Son of the Earthshaker
by BonesBoy15
Summary: From the collaborative minds of Engineer4Ever and Bonesboy15 comes the story of a hero's rise. Born to a young Naval Officer, watch the young Naruto grow in Camp Jupiter and survive Roman prejudice with the aid of his friend. By the time he is grown, he will know sacrifice, victory, the joys of life and the sorrows of death. This is his story. Rated T for language and violence.
1. I

**Co-written by Engineer4Ever.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Percy Jackson and the Olympians**_ **.**

 **Son of the Earthshaker**

 **I**

* * *

"Home at last, baby," said the relieved voice of a woman as she and her almost four-year-old son entered their home, the boy giggling in childlike wonder. The woman had her long red hair pulled back into a tight bun covered by her MARPAT cap, alluring purple eyes with a slight edge to them and her working uniform hiding her frame. She was beautiful, still in her late twenties, so it was expected. However, there was the exhaustion of raising a child and juggling that with the duties of a Lieutenant, junior grade officer obvious on her face.

She dropped her olive duffle bag on the ground and quickly scooped up the small boy that ran ahead of her.

"Come back here, munchkin." The woman pulled the boy into a tight hug. "Oh, Mommy missed you. Did you have fun at Nana's?"

"Yes!" The boy said with a smile. She smiled back at him and kissed his cheeks, making him giggle some more. His sea green eyes twinkled happily and a messy mop of blond hair covered his head.

"Good! Now, Mommy's home...so what does that mean?" the mother asked her son.

"Ramen!" the boy said, throwing his hands up in the air with his cheer and making her laugh.

"Every night." The laughing mother agreed. She tapped him on the nose, making him giggle again. "Mommy's home equals ramen every night."

"I don't think that is a good idea, Kushina." A baritone voice cut in. Kushina and her son looked into the living room where a man in a white dress admiral uniform sat in the corner in her recliner. He had sea green eyes much like the boy, but his hair was pitch black, greying along the sides and in his neatly trimmed beard. He had a faint smile on his face as he watched the two interact.

At seeing the man in her house, Kushina set her son on the ground.

"Go to your room, munchkin." She told him softly. "Go play."

"Who's that?" the boy asked.

"Just go, Naruto," Kushina said. She escorted him through the room while her eyes watched the man warily.

"Okay," Naruto said. He looked around his mother's leg at the man. The stranger's lips curled up into a small smile as his sharp green eyes gained a happy light. Naruto, being the cheerful boy he was, smiled and waved at him before disappearing into the hall and going to his room to play with his toys like his mommy told him to.

"He's getting so big." The man said, sighing.

"What do you want?" Kushina asked, getting to the point and making him arch a brow. He gave a light chuckle.

"Always so blunt. It's what I like most about you, Kushina. Straight to the point, then." The man got up and picked his white cap off the table to his left. He tucked it under his arm and walked over to stand in front of Kushina. He towered over her by a head and spoke sternly. "As I warned you, Naruto's scent is getting potent."

"I ship out in a couple months, I can take him with me." Kushina said, her jaw tightening at what his words implied. "His presence would bless the boat and give us safe passage...wouldn't it?"

"There are things in the ocean that even _I_ can't control." The man said. His words made the woman clench her hands into fists.

"I'm not ready...He's not even four, yet." Kushina said, her eyes tearing up. "There has to be something else I can do."

"...It is the best way to protect him, Kushina." He said. "You know that it is what he needs."

"He's _my_ son!" Kushina said, controlling her emotions as best she could though tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. "You're asking me to just-just _abandon_ him at some rundown cottage!"

"It is for the best." The man said. He looked to the side and met the green eyes of the boy that was peeking around the corner. "We will speak of this no longer. You will take him to the Wolf Lodge before his birthday comes. I cannot help you or him if you wait a second more."

"...I hate you sometimes." Kushina said softly. She followed his gaze and felt her breath hitch at seeing Naruto looking at them. Kushina looked back at the man that was dressed as her superior – which in a way he was – and frowned. "Can...Will I lose him?"

The man stared at her for a moment, his gaze became a bit softer, before he answered. "As long as he never loses you, you will not lose him. The tide always returns home, Kushina."

"...Thank you." Kushina said, a tear falling out of the corner of her eye. The man nodded and walked to the door, stopping and looking back at the family of two when Naruto rushed out to ask why his mom was crying. He smiled lightly before he opened the door and put his cap back on as he left.

* * *

Kushina looked in the rearview mirror of her car at the toddler that fell asleep in his car seat. Despite not wanting to do it, she knew that the man was right and Naruto would be in danger the longer he was kept from his true calling. Still, he was her baby boy. Kushina could barely manage to leave him with his grandmother, who was the chief surgeon of the hospital she worked at, when she had to leave for months at a time. The only time Kushina had taken him on her ship was when Naruto was less than a year old, and it was the smoothest sailing she ever had, the smoothest for all of the men and women aboard the vessel as a matter of fact. Even the fifty something year old captain, a man who wasn't very superstitious, claimed Naruto to be a good omen on the ruthless sea.

"Almost there, baby." Kushina said softly, seeing her son stir a bit. Her eyes returned to the road and locked on the billboard to the right advertising the Wolf House. It was only a few miles away...that left her with a few minutes. Kushina felt her eyes water up but held them in. There would be time to cry after he was gone. She pulled into the dark forested drive that would lead to the Wolf House and parked her car at the designated lot.

"Come here, munchkin." Kushina said, unbuckling Naruto and pulling him out of the car. The tired blond yawned and rested his head on her shoulder while his arms went around her neck, making Kushina smile sadly and hug him tightly. "I love you, baby."

"...love mommy." Naruto said through a yawn. He was kissed on the head for that remark. Kushina shifted Naruto to her left hip so she could easily access her M9, which was loaded with a special clip filled with bronze tipped bullets, something Naruto's father said would come in handy. He had supplied the bronze and she made the bullets. Kushina just hoped she didn't have to use them.

Kushina walked into the wood, her nerves going wild and her eyes darting around. When they finally came across the Wolf Lodge, Naruto had finished waking up and had insisted on walking with her, his hand in hers. They waited for a moment before from the shadows of the lodge came a large wolf that towered over Kushina, while Kushina herself barely made it to the wolf's shoulder. It had a beautiful chocolate red coat of fur and Kushina's purple eyes locked with two silver eyes that were unblinking. Still, she shuffled Naruto behind her and whipped her berretta out, taking aim.

"Well, well...what have we here?" the wolf asked, speaking like a human would with a female voice. Kushina wasn't too worried about that, considering the size of the wolf. The wolf chuckled. "Brave little human, aren't you?"

"You're Lupa...The mother of Remus and Romulus?" Kushina said in return. She had brushed up on her Roman mythology over the course of the past three years. A stick cracked and Kushina turned to lock her weapon on a wolf approaching from the left. A quick survey of her environment revealed to Kushina that she was surrounded.

"I am. You're rather educated for a mortal, but that means nothing. Be gone, I must judge the child you've brought to my home." Lupa said with a scowl forming on her face. Kushina turned and locked the gun's barrel back on Lupa.

"I won't leave until I'm sure you won't kill him." Kushina said, her face stony. She heard Naruto mumbling as he clung to her leg, but couldn't make out his words. She dared a glance down and saw that he had picked up a rock.

"You dare defy me?" Lupa said, arching a brow. Kushina said nothing, her eyes conveying the emotions she felt. Lupa continued to stare until her mouth curled up into a smirk. "I like you, mortal. Very well...bring him forward and I will judge him before you. If he is weak, I will kill the both of you so you don't have to suffer a mother's broken heart."

"Gee, thanks." Kushina said, scowling. She slowly lowered her gun and crouched down, putting her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Go on, baby. Mommy's right here."

Naruto looked at his mother then at what he dubbed 'big doggie' before shuffling out. He glanced back at Kushina, getting a nod from her, before walking openly up to Lupa. The 'big doggie's piercing gaze had him stopping in his tracks. Lupa sniffed him loudly, making him giggle at the brushing of air over his skin before she smirked.

"It's been a long time since I've had any seafood." Lupa said. Kushina raised the handgun back up, aiming it at the she-wolf and cocked it, fully prepared to unload rounds of bronze-tipped bullets into the wolf goddess.

"Over my dead body." Kushina said with her eyes dangerously narrowed.

"It was only a joke, mortal." Lupa said dryly, making Kushina blink owlishly. She knew from Naruto's father that Roman's had a strange sense of humor, but still that was a bit much.

Lupa smirked and released a throaty chuckle. "He will make a strong soldier despite his parentage. You may go."

"...C-Can I say goodbye?" Kushina asked as the weight of the reality of Naruto's acceptance hit her. She was fully prepared to shoot her way out of the forest and flee to the borders of the gods' reach with Naruto in tow. Now, she would have to leave her son, _her baby_ , to the goddess.

Lupa gave Kushina a mild look of annoyance. "Mortals and their sentimentalities. Fine. Be quick about it."

Kushina nodded and holstered her gun, nearly rushing to Naruto as he walked back to her with a smile. She fell to her knees and pulled the toddler into a hug, kissing him on the head. She felt the tears pouring now, but didn't dare fight them back.

"Mommy, don't be sad!" Naruto said, making her smile even wider. He was a really sweet boy, her son. She rubbed his cheeks with her thumbs and kissed his head once more.

"Mommy loves you, Naruto. Don't ever forget that, okay?" Kushina asked. Naruto nodded, getting another tight smile from her as she fought back openly sobbing. She reached around her neck, pulling off her dog tags and putting them around Naruto's neck. "Don't lose these, munchkin. They'll make sure you see Mommy again, okay?"

"Okay Mommy." Naruto said. He initiated the hug, trying to make his mother's depression go away. Kushina hugged him back tightly, murmuring more sweet words to him. It was more for Kushina than it was for the poor confused blond boy.

The wolf goddess' throat clearing told Kushina that she was out of time and regrettably let go of Naruto. She backed away as Lupa walked forward, towering over the toddler and sitting on her haunches. Wiping the tears away to look professional, Kushina couldn't help but feel a bit resentful of Lupa, who would be in a sense be taking her child from her. She watched the wolf goddess nuzzle Naruto's head and keep him in place before turning him around to go into the Wolf Lodge, leaving Kushina alone.

"I love you, Naruto." Kushina said softly, watching the darkness of the lodge swallow Lupa's retreating form. She turned and left, silently vowing never to return to the place that should've stayed burnt to the ground.

* * *

"Wake, pup." Lupa said, nudging the toddler named Naruto with her paw. The blond boy blearily rolled onto his back and sat up with a yawn. Naruto rubbed at his eyes and looked around through a half-sleeping gaze for his mother. Lupa sensed this, having gone through with it a few times before, and sighed. Another rough breaking, it seemed.

"Get up, pup." Lupa said, this time with more force. Naruto was awake at that, moving with a sharp turn, making his mother's dog tags clink together. Lupa paused at the sound of them. That would not do. She bent forward and bit the chain around Naruto's neck, pulling it off his head.

That action certainly got the toddler's attention.

"Mine!" Naruto said, reaching for the tags given to him. "Mine! Mine!"

"No." Lupa said with the chain in her mouth. She carried it over to a shelf where other small trinkets were and set it down. Seeing the dog tags being put away made Naruto react as any toddler would, he started to throw a fit. Lupa was more than used to this and barked at him. "You will not cry! Your body is unharmed and your stomach is half-full!"

"M-mine!" Naruto said in return. "Mommy gave me..."

"You will have them back when I deem it time to return them back to you. Come, pup. Time to meet your pack mate. Jason!" Lupa called, her voice echoed in the room. Naruto, his eyes still a bit red, turned and looked as a boy his age, his eyes electric blue but otherwise looking similar to himself, walked over to them.

"Yes, Lupa?" Jason asked, tilting his head.

The she-wolf nodded in Naruto's direction. "Meet your new pack mate. Introduce yourself, pup."

"Hi!" Naruto said, forgetting why he was crying with the new person here. "I'm Naruto."

"Jason." Jason said, righting himself and then looking at Lupa. "He's new?"

"Indeed." Lupa said, turning to leave the lodge. "Come, pups. Today I teach you to stalk."

Jason nodded and followed, Naruto hurrying after him so as not to be left behind. Lupa led them into the woods, Naruto being sniffed at by the wolves that waited for them. He giggled at the ticklish sniffs before hurrying at the 'big doggie's bark of his name. Lupa had them crawl through the dirt, though she growled when Naruto tried to stop and play with some mud. That was kind of mean of her if you asked him.

"Walk softly, pups. Let the grass conceal you. Blend." Lupa instructed. Naruto looked to Jason, who shrugged and began tip-toing until Lupa growled. "Walk, Jason. Do not pretend to be something you aren't."

The two boys shared another look before walking through the grass. Lupa continued to instruct them, giving them tips until they were able to properly stalk through the grass like a wolf. She rewarded the both of them by taking them on a hunt with her pack, showing the two 'pups' how to work as one unit. It would be a lesson that the two would take to the grave together.

* * *

"Come here, bunny. Come here, come here..." the voice of a small boy said into a hole under a tree. Naruto sat back with a frown, his brows creasing together and the wheels in his head turning. He grinned and put his face into the hole once more, giving a savage and well replicated wolf-like growl, forcing the rabbit to exit through the second opening right into another blond boy's arms.

"Got him! Ow!" Jason said, adjusting his hold on the struggling rabbit after it bit him on the arm. He winced with each kick of the bunny's leg. "Sorry, but we need to eat and you're all we could find."

"At least it's not spring." Naruto said, getting a nod of agreement from his friend. Neither of them wanted to stumble across baby rabbits.

The two of them swiftly ended the unfortunate rabbit's misery, taking it back to their makeshift camp just a few miles into the forest from the Wolf House. A few weeks ago, Lupa had said she had prepared them as best she could and sent them out from the Wolf House to a place called Camp Jupiter. Before she kicked them out, Lupa finally returned Naruto's dog tags, which he proudly wore around his neck. Jason had gotten a gold coin that was left on the shelf.

Jason started the fire easily while Naruto prepared the rabbit to be cooked. Within minutes, they were eating cooked rabbit, dousing the fire and looking up at the faded stars.

"There's the North Star." Naruto said, pointing the star out. "Lupa said the camp was just a bit to the east and south."

"So we go...that way." Jason said, bringing his finger down from the star to the direction of where they were supposed to go.

"Yep." Naruto said, sighing as he laid back and tossed the remains of his food to the woods for a scavenger to finish up. He wrapped his hand around the two larger tags on his necklace, frowning as he looked at the name imprinted on it.

"What are those anyway?" Jason asked.

"Dog tags." Naruto said, getting a rock thrown at his arm. "Ow! They are!"

"I know that! What do they say?" Jason asked, frowning at his friend.

"Kushina Uzumaki. They're my mommy's." Naruto said, rubbing his thumb over the name. "I remember her a bit...kind of. Red hair. That's all I get. And this happy feeling in my chest."

"I don't remember my mommy." Jason said softly. "I remember a girl, though. Her name was Ta...Ta, something. All I know is that it started with a T. She was really nice to me."

"...I miss my mommy." Naruto said, still looking at the dog tags. His green eyes hardened as he clenched his fingers around them. "I'm gonna find her after we get to the camp."

"I'll help you." Jason said, making Naruto sit up a bit to look at him. Jason smiled at his friend, the cut on his lip curling a bit. "We're pack-brothers, right? We stick together and we can do anything."

"Yeah!" Naruto said in agreement. Looking back at the sky, his smile died down a bit. "Do you think we'll find out who our dads are?"

"Probably. Lupa said so." Jason said. "Bet my dad's cooler than yours."

"Nuh-uh! My dad could probably kick your dad's butt!"

"Yeah right!"

"He could so!"

"Could not!"

They spiraled off into the playful argument before Naruto pounced on his pack-brother, both of them tumbling around in a fight before separating when Naruto slammed Jason into the ground.

"Ha! I win!" Naruto said, sitting on his friend's chest.

"Get off!" Jason said, pushing the taller blond off of him. Naruto smirked at Jason, making the boy roll his blue eyes. "Whatever. So you won, big deal. Still bet my dad could beat your dad."

"We'll just have to wait and see." Naruto said, smirking as he looked at the night sky. "I'll watch first tonight."

"Yeah, okay." Jason said, rolling onto his side. "Night, Nar."

"Night Jay."

* * *

Naruto and Jason made some good distance the next morning, wandering into a small town at the crack of dawn and avoiding any suspicion by playing at a playground for a while...Okay, they got distracted, but could you blame them? They were four. As the sun started to set, Naruto and Jason left their new friends, claiming to be going home, when they would actually start taking note of where food would be sold.

When the sun was down and the streetlights were on, they took short hour and a half long naps, getting some energy before the middle of the night came. In the dark of night, the two blonds set out for supplies. Their first target was food, so they hit up the small gas station on the corner of the street.

"Door's locked." Jason said, walking back from trying the doors and windows to Naruto's seat on the curb. "So are the windows."

"Okay. So now what? I'm hungry." Naruto said, picking a rock up and tossing it into the street. Jason rolled his eyes. Naruto was a vacuum when it came to food, and yet none of it showed. The boy was just always hungry.

"Well we could break in by smashing a window, but then the cops might show up." Jason said.

"How do you know?" Naruto asked, weighing the rock in his hand. It was prime material to throw it into a window.

"I just do." Jason said, shrugging. He always had a keen idea on what was right and wrong.

"Weird." Naruto said. He rocked back and got to his feet, still holding his rock.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting food."

"What?!" Jason asked, doing a double take just as Naruto pulled his hand back. "No, wait!"

"But...But I'm hungry, Jay." Naruto said, pouting at his friend.

"There could be an access on the roof." Jason said.

"...That'll take too long!" Naruto said.

"We have all night, Nar."

"But we could hit more shops if we just break the window!"

"...True...Rock, Paper, Scissors?"

"You're on!"

Naruto won, much to Jason's dismay. Unfortunately, there was an alarm, but fortunately, Naruto and Jason were quick enough to break in and out before the cops showed up. The two retreated to the woods, finding shelter beneath a fallen tree. The wind was warm, favoring their fragile bodies that were protected by thin old clothes, and giving them enough of a breeze to start another fire.

"Ugh, I can't read any of this!" Naruto said, annoyed as he tossed one of the small yellow bags with a red circle on it to the side. "How are we supposed to know what we can cook if we can't read it!?"

"We could always open them and find out what's in them." Jason suggested as he shook a green can. He was listening for what it held and was pleased to hear a liquid. "I got drinks!"

"Cool...how do you open it?" Naruto asked.

"Uh..." Jason looked over the can, turning it around and running his thumb over the red M on the side before looking on the top. "Maybe you tug this thing off?"

"Give it here." Naruto said, being the stronger of the two. They discovered this when Naruto stopped a tree from falling on Jason during their training a few months back after a storm. Naruto only suffered a few splinters from the bark, but the discovery had him working on control over this whenever he could.

Jason handed the can over and Naruto gripped one edge of the can before ripping it open...and getting sprayed by the contents. Jason enjoyed this immensely, falling to his back in laughter while the sticky drink dripped off of Naruto's face. The taller blond boy glared at his laughing friend.

"Very funny." Naruto said, grabbing another can and shaking it as fast as he could before aiming it at Jason. He ripped the top off and showered the laughing boy in the liquid. "Not so funny now, is it?"

"Nar! Naruto! Stop!" Jason said as he was caked in the soda. When it died he glared at the snickering boy. "Funny. Now we're down two drinks, idiot!"

"You started it!"

"It was an accident!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah it was!"

So began another scuffle between the two boys. Jason turned victorious that night and took the first watch after dinner of potato chips and the soda they managed to steal. It was just another night for the two demigods and thankfully, it was a peaceful one. They would need the rest for the coming morning.

* * *

"What did you do?!" Jason asked as they ran from the angry monster that chased them. It was a mean giant pig, two large horns coming out from next to its snout. Its' speed was hindered by the trees.

"Why do you always blame me?!" Naruto asked in return.

"Because you always do something! What did you do?!"

"I just poked it with a stick!"

"I sincerely doubt that!"

"What does sincerely mean?"

"It means...Never mind what it means! Why did you poke it!?"

"I was bored!"

"And you never once thought that could be a bad idea!?"

"It took a lot of pokes!"

"I don't care! Keep running!" Jason groaned at his friend's obliviousness. Naruto was not the sharpest tool in the shed at times. He was far too easy going for his own good, but had a temper at times. And once again, like that time Naruto tried to take back his dog tags before Lupa stopped him. Jason could've sworn that the ground shook with Naruto's tantrum.

Squeal!

Jason was torn out of his small memories by the giant pig's threatening call. The two four year olds continued to run while the relatively car-sized boar chased after them until a tree blocked their path. The boys tumbled over it, Jason's coin flying out of his pocket as he landed roughly on his arm while Naruto fell into a roll, rolling down a hill into the small river at the bottom. Jason shielded his eyes as the coin shone in the air, transforming into a gold sword that landed imbedded in the ground. Jason felt the tremor of the ground as the boar approached and he scrambled to his feet, running as fast as he could to his sword and pulling it out of the ground as he rushed to his friend's aide.

Naruto sank into the water, his eyes going wide and his mouth opening with a gasp as it entered his lungs. Unlike with normal human physiology, Naruto didn't immediately start to drown. Instead he felt empowered. Like he could do anything he wanted. Including stopping the bad pig chasing him and his friend. Naruto instinctively shot out of the water, dripping wet as he glared at the approaching boar. Jason reached out to grab him, but Naruto slipped through his grasp, rushing forward and bringing his small fist back.

"Leave us alone!" Naruto said, driving his fist forward and impacting with the end of the pig's snout. There was a loud boom as the pig soared back, and several smaller ones from the trees being knocked down by the flying boar. The noise got the distant attention of a certain guardian, but it mostly made Jason look at his friend in shock. Naruto also looked very surprised by what he had just done.

"Nar...how'd you do that?" Jason asked as he got to his feet, holding the sword nearly as long as he was tall with ease.

"I...I don't know." Naruto said honestly. He shrugged, the water rolling off of him easily. He opened his mouth to speak again but was cut off by the angry squeal. "Uh oh."

"My turn." Jason said as he stepped up, prepared to return the favor Naruto did him by punching the boar, and readied his sword. He held it above his head, waiting like Lupa taught him before he struck. The boar squealed as it approached and Jason brought his sword down, slicing right into its skull and turning the boar to dust, leaving behind two tusks. A scratch that looks like a bolt marked one and the other had been chipped, leaving three tips.

"Cool..." Naruto said, seeing the giant pig disappear into golden dust with awe written on his face. Jason bent over and picked the two tusks up, walking back to his friend with the three tipped tusk offered.

"Here, take it." Jason said. Naruto did, looking over the tusk with interest before Jason gasped. Looking at his friend, Naruto then followed the pointed finger to where it was pointing. Beyond the river was a large wall, two doors facing them.

"...What do you think that is?" Naruto asked.

"Might be the camp." Jason said.

"Really?" Naruto said, arching a brow and scratching his cheek in thought. "I always thought of a camp as more...campy."

"It's worth looking." Jason said, walking forward and immediately sinking in the riverbed, causing him to land face first in the water. He was pulled out by Naruto and once he finished gasping up what felt liked gallons of water asked. "Wh-What was that!?"

"That was weird." Naruto said.

"Let's see if we can find a bridge." Jason said. "I'd rather not drown."

The two boys walked around the water, Naruto occasionally stepping in to enjoy the water – something Jason was a bit envious of – and after a while of walking, they found a small bridge with a statue at the other side of it outside another set of doors. They shared a look and a grin, bursting into a run and racing across the bridge. Jason just barely managed to beat Naruto to the doors.

"Halt!" The two blonds jumped at the sudden shout. They looked at the statue that was looking right at them. "What brings two children to Camp Jupiter?!"

"This is the camp?" Naruto asked, sharing a grin with Jason. "It only took us a month! Lupa so owes us some deer."

"Yeah!" Jason said, high fiving his friend.

"Lupa sent you two? Children? Ha! I'll have bedded a Greek before...What's that in your hand?" the statue asked.

"These? These are tusks from some mean pig."

"Nar, the pig was mean because you woke it up!"

"Oh come on, we killed it didn't we?"

"Quiet!" the statue said, his order getting the bantering blonds to become just that. "I am Terminus, guardian of Camp Jupiter. Name yourselves and present to me your trophies."

"...What?" Naruto asked.

Terminus sighed. "Tell me your name and show me the tusk."

"Ohh...why didn't you just say that?" Naruto asked.

"Just...You, boy with the cut on his lip. What is your name?" Terminus asked.

"Oh, um. I'm Jason Grace." Jason said, then holding his tusk up. As he did, the sky darkened and there were a few booms from the clouds. Terminus looked up with wide eyes.

"Oh my...Welcome, welcome. Welcome Jason Grace, son of Jupiter." Terminus said. He looked at the other boy. "And you are?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto said, raising his own tusk. Unlike Jason, Naruto nearly fell over after he raised his trophy. Terminus' already wide eyes widened to plate sized proportions as the ground shook.

"...No...Not another one." Terminus said softly. Naruto heard it and frowned, not understanding what he meant. Before the poor boy could ask, Terminus cleared his throat and a look of distaste was on his face. "Welcome Naruto Uzumaki, son of Neptune."

* * *

 **AN: So ends the first chapter.**

 **Tell Eng and I how we did!**

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	2. II

**Co-written by Engineer4Ever.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Percy Jackson and the Olympians**_ **.**

 **Son of the Earthshaker**

 **II**

* * *

"Enter." Terminus said to the two boys, the gates of the camp slowly opening out to them. Once they were open, the statue continued. "Go to the Praetors' Chambers. They await you and you will address them appropriately. Timothy, from the First Cohort, son of Mars and Rachel, also from the First, daughter of Victoria."

"Rache and Timmy, got it." Naruto said. The two guards posted on the outside of the gate snorted in amusement while Jason tilted his head at them. He missed their presence, and so did Naruto by his fellow blond's reaction to their noise. Lupa would be disappointed in that. Terminus rolled his eyes and looked at the guards.

"Take them, keep it quiet and don't disrupt anything unless absolutely necessary." He said. The guards nodded and the taller guard turned.

"Follow me." He said, leading the sons of Jupiter and Neptune through the camp to the Praetors' Chambers. Naruto saw several other Terminus statues as he looked around. All of them were either holding different conversations with other kids older than the two blonds, or they were barking out orders. Either way, it baffled Naruto how all of the statues were alive. Naruto was forced to stop walking when he walked right into the stopped form of his guide.

"Ow! Why'd you stop!?" he asked the guard, getting a smirk from him.

"Wait here." He said, going up the steps into the large building they were stopped outside.

"Meanie." Naruto said, repeating a word he heard another child use.

"He's just doing his job." Jason said, making Naruto frown.

"Doesn't mean he gets to be mean."

Before Jason could retort, the guard returned and towered over the two. "The Praetors and the Augur will see you now. Follow me."

They walked up the steps, following the guard as he entered the large building. Statues of tall men and women surrounded them, empty spaces where other statues could be outnumbering the amount of currently occupied ones. Naruto was in awe, openly gaping at them as his poor unfocused mind tried to take them all in. Jason stopped Naruto this time before the son of Neptune could walk into the guard again. Both boys stood at attention before the Praetors.

"So, these are the two that have caused Terminus to nearly pass a cow?" The amused male Praetor, Timothy, asked, a thick Texan drawl in his voice. He was tall, muscular and brutishly handsome. His head was shaved down to the skin and two hard brown eyes with a bit of malice in them looked over the two blond boys. "I don't see what makes them so impressive."

"Think, Tim. You have a brain in there somewhere." The other Praetor, Rachel, said, also looking over the boys. She was a beautiful teenage girl with chocolate colored skin and dark hair that cascaded down over her shoulders. Light forest green eyes looked over the boys with an impressed glaze to them. "Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, and Naruto Uzumaki, son of Neptune. Two sons of the two kings on Olympus' council, what does this mean for our camp?"

"We could ask our resident Augur." Tim said, snorting at the title. Rachel rolled her eyes and looked to the left at the girl that walked over to them. Naruto and Jason followed her gaze and looked at the girl just twice their age, but still very beautiful. A long blonde braid fell over one shoulder while two light blue eyes looked at the son of the sky and the son of the sea. She hummed for a moment before smiling pleasantly.

"A son of Jupiter is a gift of great fortune, but combined with a son of the Earthshaker, quite the mixed signal." She said, her voice light. Her smile hadn't died once as she continued. "But, I believe two strong additions to the Legion are given to us, nothing more and nothing less. Lupa would've never let a threat come to camp."

"They're weak." Tim said, frowning. His words had Naruto scowling and Jason glaring at the son of Mars.

"Of course they're weak." Rachel said, shaking her head. "Think, Tim. Think. They are blank slates to be sculpted into the pinnacle of Roman men."

"Show them the tusks." The guard said softly to Jason during the Praetor's argument, prompting him to show Rachel his trophy. Naruto quickly followed Jason's example, raising his chipped tusk eagerly in front of Tim.

"What're these?" Tim asked, taking the tusks and looking them over. "Ivory. Thirty years by the weight. Monster from the smell...A son of Ermy's boar."

"The _Erymanthian_ Boar? Not an easy feat." Rachel said, making Tim's brow crinkle in thought. "Do you see? They show potential. Lupa must have foreseen it."

"Yes, but the last time we had a _legacy_ -!"

"The Earthshaker wouldn't have had a sire if he'd have thought we'd reject him." Rachel cut her fellow Praetor off. She took the tusks and gave them back to the boys. "Together they fought, so together they shall remain. I doubt they have letters of recommendation."

"The Third will take Jason without one, but I am not sure of Naruto." The Augur said sadly. "I believe he would do no harm intentionally, but my word would only get so much pull."

"If I may, Praetors. Abigail." The guard spoke up, stepping into the light and removing his helmet, showing a boy around the Augur's age with wild black hair and blue eyes. "I believe the Fifth will accept the both of them."

"You're Zachary, Fortuna's son, yes?" Tim asked, getting a nod. "Why should we place them in the Fifth and not the Fourth? We could separate them if we must."

"Call me Zack. Praetor, I don't want to insult you, but please listen to your fellow Praetor when she speaks." Zack said, getting an amused smile from Rachel and a grunt from Tim. "I know when bad luck is around, and nothing of the sort lingers over the son of Neptune. And as Rachel said, the two worked together, probably raised together with Lupa."

"We're pack-brothers." Naruto cut in proudly, Jason getting a bit of a flush at his friend's daring interruption.

"Shut up!" he hissed to his fellow blond. Only Tim seemed to be insulted at this, Rachel and Abigail both looked amused more than anything. Zach grinned back at his leaders.

"See what I mean? They are brothers in everything but blood. Besides, you really don't want to waste the Fourth Cohort's time with raising children, do you?" he asked.

"A fair point." Tim said, huffing. He waved them off and crossed his arms. "Fine. Do what you want. Get them initiated and put 'em in the Fifth. But one lick of trouble comes from the sea-born boy and he's done."

"I'll see to it that he doesn't." Zack said, saluting the Praetors before turning to the boys. "Come with me, Naruto, Jason."

"I would like to come, too." Rachel said, putting her hand on Tim's arm lightly before leading the guard and the newcomers out of the room. Abigail left after bowing to the other Praetor, leaving him alone in the room. Tim huffed and went back to his chambers, a frown on his face.

"Those two are going to cause problems...I just know it." He said, having a gut feeling about their presence.

"There, there, Jason. It's done. No more tears." Rachel said, giving the small boy comfort through a hug as he hiccupped out tears after getting his father's symbolic eagle tattooed into his arm. Naruto was faring no better, not screaming in pain, but crying heavily as the mark of the trident was burnt into his arm. It was a bit unusual to have to comfort a new member of the Legion like this, but she understood that they were still _very_ young. She had cried when she scraped her knee after learning to ride a bike, and that was a good three years before she even knew she was to be a member of the Legion.

"We're done, Naruto." Zack said, putting the instruments of pain away after marking on the small boy's arm. "There, see? I told you it would be over fast."

"It hurts." Naruto said, tears rolling down his cheeks and sniffling as he held his arm at the elbow, looking at the mark of his father. The large trident was carefully etched into his skin, hard to miss above the signature SPQR.

"Yes, but you'll both be stronger for it." Rachel said, wiping away the tears from Jason's eyes. She continued softly. "Enough crying, Jason. You must be strong now. Members of the Legion do not cry."

"O-Okay." Jason said, sniffling like his friend. His emotional struggle had caused a storm to brew over the camp, though the heavy rain hadn't been able to pierce whatever magical field protected it. He wiped his tears away and tried to make the pain go away through sheer will.

"Alright, now for the worse part." Zack said, holding a wet cloth for Naruto's burn. He had to clean it so it would heal properly. "If Abby was here this would go smoother."

"She has to consult the Senate about the tremors, you know that." Rachel said, watching as the water was introduced to Naruto's arm. Unlike Jason, he didn't shriek in surprised pain when it was put on his arm. He seemed to actually sigh in relief, making Rachel arch a brow in interest.

"Wow, kiddo. You've got some thick skin to handle this." Zack said, cleaning away the dead skin from Naruto's arm. "There. Now we're done for sure. Welcome to the Legion, Naruto Uzumaki."

"T-Thank you." Naruto said, sniffing as he held his arm protectively. An instinct Jason was following, favoring his arm as well.

"Now come. Zack will take you to the Fifth Cohort." Rachel said, standing and nodding to the guard, who bowed lightly as she left.

"You're not coming with us?" Jason asked, a bit sad over that. Rachel gave him a small smile.

"Not today. I will visit you tomorrow after you have rested." She said. With a final goodnight to the two newest members of the Legion, the Praetor returned to her chambers, her mind racing with the possibilities that these two could do in battle.

"C'mon, guys." Zack said, putting his hands on the two four-year-old's backs and leading them to a small building with a large V above it. Zack opened the door to quiet conversations, all eyes turning to face him and the newcomers.

"Legionnaire." A short boy with a mechanical right arm said, nodding at Zack from where he sat at a table where a card game was going on. He had short blond hair and emerald green eyes that had specks of black in them. "Who're the kids?"

"Centurion-"

"No formalities, Zack. That's my job." The Centurion said, smirking as he crossed his mechanical arm over his real one.

"Edward." Zack said as he rolled his eyes and put his hands on the blondes' heads. "These are the two newcomers I'm sure everyone's heard about."

"The sons of Jupiter and Neptune?" Edward asked, looking at both critically.

"Yes." Zack said, nodding. "Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, and Naruto Uzumaki, son of Neptune."

"...Is he...?" a member of the cohort asked from the side. Zack shook his head.

"No. Naruto has no bad luck on him. The Praetors have assigned them to us." Zack said.

Edward snorted and leaned back in his chair. "Great. Not only are we on latrine duty most of the time, but now we're on diaper watch." He sighed and stood up. "Guess I should be the one to say it. Welcome, Jason Grace and Naruto Uzumaki. I am Centurion Edward Allen, son of Trivia and co-leader of the Fifth Cohort. The other Centurion is on watch tonight so you'll meet her tomorrow. Find a bunk and get some rest, you've got a big day ahead of ya."

"In other words boys," Zack said, grinning as he patted their heads. "Welcome to your new home."

* * *

"Three years have passed since their arrival." A member of the Second Cohort said softly as he put on his armor, catching the attention of a young girl sitting at a table behind the speaker. "And we've yet to have a game against the whole Fifth. Favoritism from the Praetors?"

"You kidding me?" asked another seated boy. "Those runts would get killed faster than you could call Pluto. If anything, the Praetors have been keeping Jupiter's wrath from falling upon us."

"Like that would matter if the other one died. He's bad luck."

"Don't let the Augur hear you say that. She'll have the gods against you in an instant."

"Shame she's going to be giving up her job for a seat soon."

"Her apprentice is a member of our Cohort that can actually read the future."

"Misaki!" The eavesdropping girl jumped at her name being hissed by her friend and mentor. The older girl by the name of Samantha was of Aesculapius' blood and had taken the young seven-year-old daughter of Venus under her wing. Samantha was a brown haired girl with sky blue eyes, much like the Augur of whom the two boys spoke and was taller than Misaki by at least a head and a half. She was everything a Roman girl was supposed to be.

Misaki herself was a contrast of this, her hair a long curly golden blond and her equally golden, star-filled eyes gave her the appearance of a pampered princess. The silk gloves she was obsessed with wearing didn't help this image at all. Had it not been for her letter from a cousin in New Rome, a former Centurion of the Second Cohort, she would've most likely ended up in a lesser cohort stuck with duties that were far beneath her. She had her trusty gold colored purse over her shoulder and in it she had concealed her curved dagger given to her by her mother on her second month alone. Not directly, but through careful directions and the whispers of a dove.

"Were you listening? This is your first War Game and I want you to be ready." Samantha said, frowning at the girl.

"Of course I was, Sammy." Misaki said, smiling sweetly. Samantha rolled her eyes, used to the charming behavior of the Second Cohort's 'princess'. The daughter of Venus had the slyest of tongues and if one wasn't careful, she could easily trick you into doing something she didn't want to.

"Then what did I say?" Samantha asked.

"Stay close, listen to the orders and don't use charmspeak." Misaki said, frowning at the last one. "Why can't I use charmspeak again? Magic isn't illegal."

"The last thing we need is for an actual fight to break out over the regulations of charmspeak in a War Game." Samantha said. "It's two against three, and while the First and Second cohorts are considered the best of the best, we're outnumbered and there's always a few gems hidden in the rough."

"Of course there is, Sammy." Misaki said. She and Samantha finished dressing for the game and went to where the fort was, the Fields of Mars. The Cohorts were mixed together, most of the First and Second wearing the color of purple while the other three cohorts wore the color of gold primarily. Misaki was set next to a boy her age that was bouncing in his place out of nerves, or so she believed it to be nerves.

"Would you knock it off?" another boy asked quietly as the Praetors went over the rules. "We're going to get in trouble."

"I can't help it. It's the first game we get to be apart of! I want to give 'em payback for what they did to Zack's eye." The boy said, the sword in his hand trembling under his grip. He looked about ready to just drop it and run, in Misaki's opinion.

"You'll have your chance, just do as Ed says for now and we'll be back at the barracks soon enough."

"But Jay..."

"Would you shush?" Misaki asked, annoyed by their conversation and the hyper boy's whine. "In case you two haven't noticed, you're standing next to the enemy. I could cut you down here and now with how loud you're being and no one would care."

"Oh who asked you?" the hyper boy said, frowning at her. He got shoved by the other boy, Jay, for retorting to the threat. "What?"

"Shut up, Nar." Jay said.

"What'd I do? She started it!"

"We can't afford to do this now, idiot." Jay said.

"What, is she Vulcan's daughter or something?" Nar asked. Misaki bulked at the question and then seethed. She was not the daughter of the disfigured smith god, thank you very much! She was a member of the Second Cohort and already making a name for herself. This-this boy should know exactly who she is!

"Not now, Naruto!"

"But Jay..."

"You, Naruto." Misaki said, grinding her teeth as the boy looked at her with sea green eyes. "You're my first target."

"Go ahead and try to hit me." Naruto said with his own challenging grin.

Misaki laughed and smirked at him. "It'll be easy to take out a few members of the Fifth."

"Oh yeah? Well I'm gonna be the first one through that wall!" Naruto said, determinedly.

"Sure you will." Misaki said, waving his claim off with her smirk still on her face. "Now get going. I don't want to take you out too easily. Might as well give you a handicap."

"Naruto." Jason said, grabbing his friend's arm before he could act. "Just let it go and come on."

"Yes. Go on, Naruto. Go back to your Cohort." Misaki said with a smirk as Jason led him away. That boy was full of hot air and just as new to this as she was. She had the better soldiers to train her. She'd squash him flat, and if that didn't work, she could always charm him into cleaning her barracks or something.

* * *

"Oh, I'm so gonna make her eat her words!" Naruto said, scowling as he tightly gripped his sword, bending the handle in his grasp.

"Naruto, your sword." Jason said, nudging him and making the blond look at his handle.

"Aw man...That's the third one this month," Naruto said. He grunted and tossed the sword aside and picked up a small circular shield once he got to the assault cohort base. "Stupid weak metal handles..."

"Naruto, you can warp pure gold with your bare hands. They aren't exactly weak," Jason said with dry amusement.

"Yeah, but now I'm down to a shield. Can I borrow your sword?"

"Julius is mine, Naruto." Jason said, rubbing his coin with a grin on his face.

"Not that one. The regulated one."

"No."

"What?! Why not?"

"You need to learn restraint."

"Ugh, you know I hate that word. So...restricting."

"That's the point."

"But it's no fun! Just give me the sword."

"Abigail said you should learn to control yourself."

"...Low blow, Jay." Naruto said, pouting at the now smirking son of Jupiter. It was no secret between the two boys that Naruto idolized the Augur. She had put more faith in him than anyone else in his cohort aside from Zack. Her word had a lot of pull with the senate as a legionnaire and the Augur that interpreted the gods' wishes, and it was her word that protected him from being shafted after a small tremor hit San Francisco. Jason even went as far to say Naruto _liked_ the pretty daughter of Apollo, which was met with vehement denial and blushing.

"If it works, it works." Jason said.

"Jason, Naruto!" The two seven-year-olds rushed into the hut, gathered near the now eye patch wearing Zack, his left eye having a vicious scar over the blinded orb. The son of Fortuna let the two slip in front of him and listen as Edward and his fellow centurion Michelle, a daughter of Somnus who was exceedingly energetic because of the caffeine constantly flowing through her veins to keep her awake, stood around a table.

"Alright, you know what comes first. We're being sent in to weaken the defenses." Michelle said, making the room groan. "Oh come on, we're good at that."

"Yeah!" Naruto said, his fist raised. His exuberant cry got him punched in the arm by Jason. "Ow. What? I can break the door down in a snap."

"Our own little battering ram." Zack said, ruffling Naruto's hair affectionately. The one-eyed son of luck smirked at the amused Centurions. "What the hell, even if we're just going to be cannon-fodder, I got a good feeling about this."

The rest of the cohort grinned at that. It was always a good sign when Zack had a good feeling. His last good feeling was when Naruto and Jason were inducted to their cohort. Since then, he's had nothing but bad feelings about War Games, his last game being Deathball and getting a new splinter ball shot in his eye.

"You heard the lucky charm." Edward said, twisting his mechanical wrist and letting a gold sword slide out. "Let's go kick down a door."

The cohort cheered and rushed out, Naruto holding his shield at the ready. The blond clanged his shield against Jason's with a grin on his face. "Let's bust some heads!"

"You're way too into this." Jason said, flipping his coin and gripping the spear that formed from it.

"Just cover me, Jay. And stay close, we might need to try that thing we've been working on out." Naruto said.

"...Not the thing."

"Yes, the thing."

"...We're doomed."

"See, it's attitudes like that that led Rome to fall the first time." Naruto said as Rachel blew the whistle. The Fifth Cohort rushed forward with battle cries, Naruto and Jason falling behind because of their shorter legs. Lucky for them, since they weren't targeted by boulders launched by catapults or arrows shot by bows. Naruto ran up to one of the boulders, bringing his shield-wielding arm back over his shoulder before bashing the giant rock at the fort. One of the archers was encased in the shadow and was forced to jump from the top of the fort to the ground, landing with a scream on the ground as his legs broke.

While Tim rushed in and got the injured legionnaire out, Naruto focused on rushing through his fellow Fifth Cohort members. Zack called for him to fall back, but lost him as the small wave of defensive soldiers from the First and Second Cohorts held off the Fifth Cohort. Naruto kept running, bringing his shield up in front of him and plowing through the door, the shock of it all bringing the soldiers in the fort to a standstill. Naruto looked up from his spot on the downed stone door and blinked two large green eyes up at the one girl he didn't expect to see.

"Uh...Hi?"

Misaki blinked in surprise as her star-filled golden eyes met his green, taking them in for the first time. They were rather nice, dare she say very nice even. It was like looking at two pieces of sea glass.

"I gotta wreck this place now. Bye!" Naruto said, hopping to his feet and rushing to a wall. Bringing his shield-baring arm back, he slammed it against the wall, creating a large hole just large enough for a small adult.

That seemed to snap the opposing demigods out of their surprise, clambering over each other in an attempt to get him. Naruto slipped through, only to be tripped and grabbed by the ankle, held in place by someone stuck in a pileup caused by the attempt to catch him.

"I don't think so, shrimp!" The son or legacy of Mars, based on his similar appearance to Tim, who held his ankle said.

Naruto struggled to pull himself free, and when that didn't work, decided to try something he'd only been working on for a few weeks. Throwing his shield like a discus to take out an approaching opponent, Naruto intertwined his hands and brought them over his head. He brought them down, hitting the solid dirt ground he was dropped to and watching as a fissure formed from the impact.

 _Hit the wall, hit the wall._ Naruto thought, watching as the cracking continued and stopped at his target. The wall started to shake before crumbling apart, leaving a large gaping opening in the enemy's defenses. The glaring holes were enough of an inspiration for the Third and Fourth Cohorts to rush in and overtake the fort, winning the Siege for the first time in months.

* * *

Misaki had her eyes glued on the boy pulled from the grasp of the son/legacy of Mars by an older boy who hoisted Naruto onto his shoulders, the entirety of the Fifth Cohort chanting his name. Her eyes gleamed and her mouth curled up into a small smile as he was put down and high fived the other boy, Jay. She just discovered something very interesting. Misaki liked things that were interesting.

She liked them a lot.

* * *

"The victory goes to the assault team, Cohorts Three through Five." Tim said, making several First Cohort members groan as he gave them a disapproving look. They were supposed to be the best of the best, and being beat by a boy not even in his teens was humiliating. Tim looked to his fellow Praetor and Rachel smiled.

"And our MVP of the match is the young member of the Fifth Cohort, Neptune's son, Naruto Uzumaki." Rachel said, all eyes turning to the blond as he blinked in confusion. Jason shoved him forward, getting a look of annoyance from the blond boy. He turned around and saw that everyone was looking at him.

"Uh...Hello..." he said shyly, not really used to all the attention. He mainly stuck close to Jason, Zack or Abigail and in rare occasions the Praetor Rachel. She took great interest in training two of the big three's sons. Rachel beckoned him over to her and she smiled, giving him a small token.

"For the offering." She said softly. "After we finish here, you must go to Neptune's temple. Abigail has told me the gods wish it to be so." Rachel pulled away and Tim walked over to Naruto, holding a golden laurel crown in his hands.

"For the infiltration and the sabotage that led to victory, I proudly present the Mural Crown to the Most Valuable Player." Tim said, placing the crown on Naruto's head. Naruto grunted at the slight weight added before he was saluted by the players.

Jason was grinning proudly for his friend. The hardheaded idiot deserved it after all the looks he's been receiving because of Neptune's connection with him. Plus, they didn't have to use that stupid _thing_ Naruto was adamant about using. Heck, Jason was just happy he didn't get eliminated before Naruto. Sure, Naruto was in first, but Jason was having more fun fighting the defensive team anyway. He got three 'kills', how many did Naruto get? Exactly.

It was during the feast that Naruto slipped away. Rachel said the gods wanted him to go to his father's temple, which was pretty much almost an outhouse, and so that's where he went. The small token in hand, Naruto dropped the token into the small bowl of water set on the wooden bench. The water shone brightly before two leather wrist braces appeared where the token was. They had gold tridents imprinted on the back.

"Whoa..." Naruto said, reaching into the water and pulling the two braces out. As soon as he pulled them out of water they opened and shot to either of his wrists, melding with them perfectly. The act made his eyes go wide as the information of how to use them entered his subconscious. Naruto stumbled back, falling out of the mockery of a temple onto his backside with a grunt. He stood up, rubbing his sore butt from where he landed as he looked at the temple.

"Thank you, Lord Neptune." Naruto said, getting up and closing the door. "I'll repay you somehow for this gift." Frowning, Naruto decided Neptune deserved a bit more dignity of a temple. A genius idea hit him and Naruto grinned. "Don't go anywhere!" He said, running past the temple to the temple of Mercury where he quickly got on his knees as he came up to the likeness of the god. "Lord Mercury, god of the merchants, travelers and messengers, I ask for your help." The relatively human sized statue said nothing, simply staying in its position while Naruto continued. "In return, I shift my victory banquet to your honor and give you my crown."

* * *

Jason woke up with a yawn, scratching his head as he got out of his cot. He was ready for a day of relaxation, the three victorious cohorts being let off for the day because of their victory and most of the punishment falling upon the First Cohort, while the Second focused on demolishing the fort. He walked over to the Fifth Cohort's breakfast table, where a bowl of oatmeal-like slop was set in front of him.

"Eat up, Jason and relax while you can."

"Thanks Edward." Jason said to the Centurion. He eagerly dug in and looked over to where Naruto's cot was. He swallowed a bite and blinked at the lack of his sleeping blond pack-brother. "Did Naruto already eat?"

"He was gone when I woke up." Edward said, shrugging as he scooped another slop out into a bowl and handed it to the bleary Zack. "Michelle said she'd go look for him after her shift."

"Oh, okay." Jason said, digging back in.

Zack woke up after a few bites and grinned at Jason. "So how many did you get?"

"Three." The son of Jupiter said proudly. He got a ruffle of the hair, making him groan while Zack and Edward laughed.

"Alright, Jay!" Edward said with a clap on the shoulder. "Look at you, already taking out three men."

After a few more jokes at his expense, Jason set out to find his friend. As soon as he stepped out of the cohort, though, he saw that girl that got into a tiff with Naruto before the Siege began trying to hide behind the side of the Fourth Cohort's barracks. Arching a brow, because he knew she was supposed to be helping take down the fort, he decided to investigate her presence instead. Jason doubled around the other way of the Fifth's barracks and snuck up behind the girl.

"Boo!" he said, making the blonde girl turn around and throw a fist at his face. "Hey, watch it."

"Oh, it's you. Jay-Jay, right?" she asked as she took her fist back.

" _Jason_." He said, scowling at the massacre of his name. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be taking down the fort?"

"Oh I would, but I gave that to someone far more suited with dismantling the fort than myself." She said. "You see, I'm not too keen on physical labor. Fighting, oh I can do that if I have to, but physical labor. Ick. I'll pass."

"Uh-huh. Whose your parent?" Jason asked, already having a feeling.

"Venus, of course. Couldn't you tell, Jay-Jay?" the girl said with a smile on her face and a flutter of her eyes.

"My name is _Jason_." Jason said with a frown.

"And I'm Misaki." Misaki said, smirking as she held her hand out. "Misaki Shoukuko. Pleased to meet you, Jay-Jay."

"...Stop calling me that." Jason said dryly as he shook her hand.

"Hm...No, I like it now. I'm going to keep calling you that." Misaki said, smirking at him as she took her hand back. She looked around for something.

"Can I help you?" Jason asked.

"Yes, actually. Where's your friend, Jay-Jay?" Misaki asked slyly.

"I don't know." He said, making her frown in disappointment.

"How can you not know?" she asked. "Are you not all that good of friends? I could've sworn you two were closer than that."

Jason glared at the girl. "We are. He's my best friend. I just don't know where he is right now."

"Really? So are we going to go find your not best friend?" Misaki asked, smirking at the glare she got. Oh this was so entertaining. She giggled lightly. "I'm only teasing, Jay-Jay, no need to be so mean."

"It's not funny."

"It is to me." Misaki said. "In fact, I find it very entertaining. I may have to do it more often."

"Joy." Jason said dryly, once more making her giggle. They walked around the camp, searching for Naruto and all the while Misaki would ask questions about them. Jason answered as best he could, but after a few too many questions about Naruto's favorite things, he asked. "Why are you looking for Naruto?"

"Why? Do I really need a reason?" Misaki asked in return.

"Yes." Jason said as they turned towards Temple Hill. Maybe Naruto was asking Neptune for guidance. As unlikely it would be, it was still possible.

"Well...I just want to get to know him a bit more." Misaki said with a smile. "I like having friends, too."

"Right..." Jason said in disbelief. "So why were you stalking him?"

"I wasn't stalking him." Misaki said in mock outrage before smirking. "I was...surveying him, is all."

"Sure you were." Jason said, giving her a wary glance. He was going to have to keep his eyes on this one. She was dangerous.

They finished their climb up Temple Hill and went to the temple of Neptune...which was now gone. In the outhouse's place was a small marble building, a golden Trident hung above the doorway. Jason moved his mouth several times before he found his voice. "He couldn't have...not in a night..."

"They say Rome wasn't built in a day, but I think we found one boy who could've helped do so." Jason and Misaki turned to look at the speaker, finding the amused Abigail kneeling nearby under an ash tree, Naruto sleeping with his head on her lap. Abigail ran her fingers through Naruto's hair, smiling lightly at the softness. "He was called to speak with the gods after his victory. Gifted unto him by Neptune were two bracers, the abilities unknown or unseen by land dwellers since the sinking of the Greek isle Atlantis, and in return, Naruto sacrificed his crown and feast to Mercury for some supplies."

"Abby...did Naruto build this on his own?" Jason asked softly. Abigail looked up with a smile.

"Yes he did." She said. She carefully moved Naruto's head back to the ground and stood. "Well, now that you two are here, I believe I can go inform Michelle not to worry about finding Naruto."

She walked away, leaving Jason to go wake his friend up while Misaki watched the Augur go. Misaki frowned a bit, crossing her arms at the closeness between the older girl and the boy that snagged her interest. They were probably just friends, but still.

"Wake up, Nar." Jason said, nudging Naruto with his foot. Naruto blinked his eyes and yawned, sitting up and rubbing the sleep away.

"Jay...? What're you doing out here? You come to help me?" He asked.

"No. You slept out here all night." Jason said with a smirk.

Naruto frowned, falling on his back. "That explains a lot." He noticed Misaki's presence and frowned. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to see you again, Superboy." Misaki said, kneeling down and poking him in the arm with a smile on her face. "Guess I was wrong about you. I don't like being wrong, you know."

"Meh, get used to it, Sparkles." Naruto said with a smirk.

"Oh pet names already? This is moving a bit too fast for me. We just met after all." Misaki said, holding her cheeks as she closed her eyes in thought. Naruto and Jason shared a confused glance before Misaki regained their attention by tapping Naruto in the nose. "I can't wait to see you in action some more, Superboy."

Before Naruto or Jason could say anything more, Misaki got to her feet and skipped away down the Hill back towards the barracks.

"Hey Jay?"

"Yeah Nar?"

"Girls are weird."

"Yes they are."

* * *

 **AN: Alright, chapter two and the character that Engineer4Ever picked to make a strong impact has been revealed. Misaki Shoukuko from is whom he chose to be inserted, but don't complain to me I just went with it.**

 **Look her up and tell us your thoughts!**

 **REVIEW!**


	3. III

**Co-written by Engineer4Ever.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Percy Jackson and the Olympians**_ **.**

 **Son of the Earthshaker**

 **III**

* * *

A year has passed since Naruto's first victory in the War Games. His redesign of Neptune's temple had gotten a few ruffled feathers in the senate, but most senators conceded to Abigail's defense of not angering the god of the sea by tearing it down. Jason's support also seemed to keep Naruto off the radar of bullies on the senate and in the Legion, but during the following war game – Deathball – Jason emerged the MVP and outlasted Naruto because of the green-eyed boy taking a poisoned ball to the back that would've hit Jason in the head. Strangely enough, a warm bath seemed to clear away the abrasion that afflicted Naruto. It was attributed to his sire's domain's purifying attributes. The two developed a friendly rivalry during the games they were involved in, seeing who could get the title of MVP or closest to it.

Another change over the year was the acceptance of Misaki as a friend. While Jason still kept her at arms length and was wary of the obviously scheming daughter of Venus of the Second Cohort, Naruto told her everything that was on his mind and would often seek her out while Jason studied nobly and trained under the watchful gaze of their Cohort's centurion. Today was no different.

Naruto was struggling with the structure of the Legion and some history lessons that he didn't find all that invigorating. So this guy did this and became Emperor, or he killed this person and became infamous, so what? Why would that affect him now?

"It really doesn't matter who did what." Misaki said, flipping through a history book. "The saying 'history repeats itself' isn't far from the truth, Naruto. People overthrow the cruel leaders. Armies fight and Mars becomes stronger with every war, ranging from civil to world."

"Oh...Why doesn't the history book just say that?" Naruto asked. He crossed his arms as he looked towards Temple Hill. "I mean, I can understand the need for stories on the gods, they're kind of important here."

"That's an understatement, sweetie." Misaki said, smiling as Naruto gained a cringe. He wasn't keen on the cutie names yet. Misaki was still a little weird at times and it was during those times he wished she was a bit like Abby, who was probably the only cool girl in the Legion.

"Please don't call me that, Misaki." He said.

"I promise nothing." She said with a giggle. "Now back to the history, if you can see the patterns you can use it to your advantage."

"Really?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. For instance, you could prevent some serious bad things from happening or turn the tide in your favor." Misaki said, gaining Naruto's attention through clever wordplay. She learned very quickly that sea-related idioms and terms would always make him perk up his ears.

"Cool!" Naruto said, now very eager to learn a bit more. Misaki smiled and set the book down, inviting him to sit next to her. Her smile grew a bit more as he sat next to her and looked over the book, listening to her intently until their lesson came to an end and it was time for him to go help the Fifth Cohort do some labor work in New Rome. While Naruto raced off to his cohort, Misaki calmly picked up the history book and carried it with her back towards her own. She nearly walked into a skinny boy with sunny blond hair, similar to Naruto's, but a detached look in his sky blue eyes and a scowl locked on his face as he watched Naruto leave.

"Excuse me. Were you eavesdropping on a private conversation?" Misaki asked, a bit annoyed with how he standing there.

"If I were, it was only by chance." The boy said. He glanced back to the direction Naruto raced off to and snorted. "Teaching him strategy, probably not the best idea for our Legion. We'd be better off without him, wouldn't you say?"

Misaki's eyes narrowed slightly, but her smile remained wide and open. "And why would I care for the opinion of a freshly deflowered probatio?"

"Watch your tongue!" The boy said with a hiss. "I am the legacy of the prophetic Apollo, next Augur of the Roman Legion and member of the _First_ Cohort. My name is Octavian."

"The pleasure is mine, Octavian." Misaki said with a false smile on her face, her charmspeak protecting her from the legacy's ability to see through lies. "But once again, why should I care for someone who is 'soon to be' rather than current?"

"I will not be mocked by one who seeks out bad luck." Octavian said, sneering at her. "Sleeping with the devil, you certainly are a lot like Venus."

"...You do know how...pedophiliac that was, oui?" Misaki asked, smiling devilishly as Octavian's face turned red. "I am only eight years old, after all. Should I tell the Praetors of your true colors in accordance to a young girl? I fear for my virtue."

"You dare mock me?" Octavian asked, glaring daggers at her. "When the Centurion hears of this...!"

"Hey, Misaki! Guess what? The job was moved to tomorrow on account of the upcoming festival tonight to celebrate the last Praetors' firstborn son." Naruto said as he ran back up to the girl. He was oblivious of the angered glare he got from Octavian.

"That's great Naruto!" Misaki said as she turned a one eighty and beamed at him. She looked back to the boy whose name she already forgot. "Naruto, meet, hm, what was it again?" She tapped her chin with a laced finger in mock thought before her eyes lit up and she snapped her fingers. "Octy! Naruto, meet Octy."

"What?! No it's-!"

"Like an octopus?" Naruto asked with a tilt of his head, wow, sucks for this guy. He must have been picked on all his life.

"Bingo~!" Misaki winked at him with a hand on her hip as it was jutted to the side while her other arm hung lazily at the other side.

"Wow, sorry for the bad name, Octy." Naruto said genuinely.

"My name isn't Octy, you buffoon!" Octavian said, loosing his cool. "I am Octavian, legacy of Apollo and member of the First Cohort!"

"...Oh, you're the guy that took Richie's spot after he...died." Naruto said, wincing at the memory of the last Augur-to-be's corpse's return from a quest done alongside Misaki's friend Samantha. He wasn't too keen on meeting the monster that did _that_ to him.

"However, he wasn't so...twiggy." Misaki said with a thoughtful hum as she looked Octavian over. "Seriously, you shouldn't throw up everything you eat. It does explain the bad breath, though." She popped open her purse and began rummaging through it, pulling out a small roll of mints and offered them to him. None to quietly, she whispered "You need it."

"I will not stand for this a second longer!" Octavian said. He was so mad, his face turning an interesting shade of purple. "You've made an enemy, Legionnaire Shoukuko. And you, son of the _sea_ god!" A finger was thrust in Naruto's face. "You keep your distance, earth shaker. Nothing good comes from your kind."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowing. Octavian said nothing, turning on his heel and walking back towards the First cohort barracks. Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. "What a grade-A jerk."

"You said it." Misaki said. Unseen by the son of Neptune, her eyes narrowed and you could see beyond her bubbly princess persona. A dark, cold and calculating look appeared within her normally bright starry eyes and Misaki made a small hum. _An enemy, hm? How very interesting...A new toy to play with._ Misaki smirked a bit. _I hope he doesn't break too easily, because when I play, I play rough._

* * *

Two years passed again, and with time, Jason and Naruto have made sufficient names for themselves in the Legion. Jason was quickly becoming known as Rome's Javelin, for his quick and efficient plans in battle, gaining a lot of attention from Tim and being asked to accompany meetings of strategic war plans. Naruto, along with being known as the living Earthshaker and having to deal with a huge amount of bias because of it. Misaki's title of Second Cohort's Princess stuck firmly after her own MVP awarding in a game of Siege, where she captured several prisoners by just asking them to throw their weapons down. Her use of Charmspeak had been called into question by the Senate, but Abby had come to her defense by saying it was a natural gift and shouldn't be forbidden from use.

Currently, the two pack-brothers were being led by their favorite Praetor through the camp. She had asked for them during one of their training drills, definitely sending some red alerts through their heads.

"Why are we going to Temple Hill, Rachel?" Jason asked, raising a brow in question.

"Let me answer that question by going over the Legion's forces. Most of our forces are made of legacies, a few direct descendants being rare, especially among the Olympians." Rachel said, looking over her shoulder at him with a smile on her face. "As such, most families are in New Rome and easily visited. But for direct descendants like you two and myself, we have the option of leave every few months."

"Leave?" Naruto asked, frowning in confusion. "Leave to where?"

"That's the question isn't it?" Rachel asked. "You two have been here for over five years straight, which is common, but you're in your seventh year, both of you have earned at least a month away from the Legion."

"This isn't negotiable is it?" Jason asked, frowning.

"No. Consider it an order." Rachel said. "Now, back to your original question, we're going to seek help from Lord Mercury, god of travelers, merchants and messengers to see if we can find where you can go."

"I like this order." Naruto said, reaching into his camp shirt and pulling out his mom's dog tags. Jason watched his friend rub his thumb over the name as he often did to calm his nerves. He could understand, Naruto still wanted to find his mom. It was better than waiting to get a quest to leave to find her. Jason wondered if he could find that nice girl that took care of him.

"I figured one of you would." Rachel said. Jason understood what she meant. Naruto was not a fan of being restricted to camp and would constantly deflate for a day or two when he wasn't picked for a quest, whereas Jason was more than happy to stay in the camp. What could he say? Jason was a fan of order.

They walked into Mercury's temple and Jason immediately felt welcomed. Must be due to their forced leave and their preparation to go on a trip. Mercury must be watching out for them. As he and Naruto knelt next to Rachel, Jason wondered why that could be.

"Swift Lord Mercury, god of travellers, hear my plea. I, Rachel Larson, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion, ask you for guidance. Give us a sign, where should the sons of Jupiter and Neptune go?" Rachel asked, looking up to the statue hopefully.

"To the coast." A man said behind them. The three Romans jumped, Jason hanging in it for a second, and spun around to face the newcomer. He had short sandy blond hair slicked back and hanging lowly on his nose were some rather classy square-framed glasses, the lenses adding a small twinkle to his blue eyes. He was dressed in a nice business suit and in his hand was some sort of small black rectangular device, a phone Jason recalled after seeing Misaki use hers. He raised his left hand in a small wave. "Hello."

"L-Lord Mercury!" Rachel said in surprise, kneeling before him. "Welcome, Lord Mercury. Thank you for answering my plea. The honor I-we feel is unfathomable."

"Thank you, Lord Mercury." The two blond boys quickly followed their Praetor's example.

"Now, now, I haven't got time for your praise. I came to help Jason and Naruto. By the way, nice job on Neptune's temple, kid. Good use of the materials I got you." Mercury said, smiling lightly at Naruto.

Naruto laughed and reached behind his head to rub it sheepishly from the praise. "Well, thanks for the nice gold trident and all the carved marble."

"Anytime. Not often I get a crown, you know." Mercury said before tapping the screen of his phone. "Anyway, I'll send out one message each to your chosen destination. Let's start with the contracting son of Neptune first."

"...I-I want to find my mom." Naruto said quietly, looking down and grabbing his dog tags. Rachel and Jason watched as Mercury's thumbs blurred over the many buttons. After he did that, he reached into his suit and pulled out a card, turning it over in his hand and offering it to the son of Neptune.

"Done. Your mother will be expecting you at the address on this card. I'm assuming you'll be taking the buses?" Mercury asked, looking to Rachel. The Praetor nodded and he gave a curt nod of his own as Naruto took the card, holding it carefully in both hands. The god of travelers looked to Jason next. "And for the son of Jupiter?"

"I want to see the girl who I grew up with, but, all I know is her name starts with Ta-"

"Thalia Grace, your older sister." The god cut him off, giving him an apologetic smile. "Sadly, that is a message even I cannot deliver due to...technicalities."

"Technicalities?" Jason asked, his brows furrowing together. The only reason he could think of that the god of messengers couldn't deliver his message would be one thing. "I-Is she dead?"

"Jason, don't think like that!" Rachel said as she put a hand on his shoulder in effort to comfort the boy.

"Not exactly." Mercury said, making the three look at him. "The details are complicated, and I would prefer to leave it at that."

"Yes, lord Mercury." The three said a bit reluctantly.

"Good. Now, I must be off. I have some business to attend to in New York." Mercury said, a bit of a cringe on his face when thinking of the east coast. He vanished in a gust of wind, possibly moving so fast that he made it. A ghostly image of him remained, smiling at the two young demigods. "Good luck on your trip."

And it vanished just as fast as the god did.

"Jason..." Rachel said softly, making him look at her. She had an apologetic look in her eyes and a similar smile on her face. "She's not dead."

"But it's complicated." Jason said, frowning. "Which means she might be close to it."

"Maybe she's frozen or something." Naruto said. "Or in a coma."

"Not helping, Nar." Jason said with a frown. Naruto's heart was in the right place, putting a term to something always helped Jason solve a problem he couldn't understand. But comas were fickle, according to Abigail's lessons in medicine, and being frozen...well, Jason wouldn't appreciate all that ice.

"Sorry." Naruto said. A beat passed. "...You could come with me."

"What?" Jason blinked as he looked at Naruto.

"No, not could. You _have_ to come! You promised!" Naruto said, grinning. "Remember? Before we came to camp."

"...I guess I did." Jason said softly. Rachel rubbed his shoulder soothingly, as if knowing that wasn't exactly what he was hoping to do. She always seemed to understand him a bit better than anyone else. Naruto beamed and declared he would go tell Misaki they were leaving, rushing off before the two could stop him.

"At least you have a name now." Rachel said.

"...It's not the same, though." Jason said in return.

"I suppose not, but now you can pray to the gods for her." Rachel said, rubbing Jason's shoulder. He quirked a smile a bit at that, making her smile back. "You'd best go find Naruto and bring him back. I have the bus passes back at the Praetors' Chambers."

"Yes, Praetor." Jason said, running off to find his friend.

* * *

"I really shouldn't be this surprised." Jason said, finding Naruto with ease. He may have been minutes behind, but time and practice have taught him all of Misaki and her minions' known hangouts. The common mess hall was just one of the few places in public eye where they were most often found. At a rather girl-oriented table, Naruto was sitting next to Misaki, who had scooted a bit closer than normal, and from the look on her face, he could tell that Naruto would need an extraction soon. As he walked closer, he could hear their conversation.

"You're leaving and you're not taking me? Naruto, I thought we were friends." Misaki said, pouting at the green-eyed blond.

"We are friends, Misaki." Naruto said, reassuring her. "But this is the first time I get to see my mom in years."

"Then how come Jay-Jay gets to go?" Misaki asked, adding a bit of a whine. Jason rolled his eyes but continued his quiet approach.

"Because Jay's my pack-brother." Naruto said, grinning proudly. "Why wouldn't he come?"

"Humph." Misaki pouted a bit more, taking a bite of the slice of cake that was before her. Jason didn't bother asking where or how she got it. He'd rather not try to extract information from her and wind up telling another secret about himself. He would, however, end her charade before it could get too crowded on the bus. Going on a trip with just Naruto was one thing, going with Naruto and Misaki...that's a whole different story.

"Naruto, c'mon, we've got to go." Jason said, finally revealing himself as he planted a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Don't you want to stay for cake, Jay-Jay?" Misaki asked, smiling at him.

"No." Jason said flatly. Who knew what she laced that cake with? Jason wouldn't put it past her to try something. Like that time she got Octavian to turn bright yellow. No one could blame her, but Jason knew she had something to do with it after Naruto sung praises to the 'mysterious' prankster, because she had gained a bright smile that just wouldn't go away. "Naruto, c'mon."

"Right, right." Naruto said, getting up. Misaki pouted at him when he smiled at her. "Bye Misaki!"

"You'd better bring me something nice." She said, making him laugh as they left. Misaki turned back to her table and resumed talking with her friends/minions.

* * *

"Why can't we wear our camp shirts again?" Naruto asked, looking down at the large green shirt that replaced the purple and gold he loved so dearly. They had said their farewells to their cohort, Centurion and their Praetors – though Tim was rather blunt in saying he wasn't going to shake their hand or hug them like Rachel did – and were loading up in a small bus at a stop located outside the camp's secret entrance.

"Because, Naruto, we're technically on a quest and subtlety is important." Jason said, sighing as he plopped down in a seat on the bus. "Sit down."

"Yes master." Naruto said with a smirk, plopping down next to him. Jason rolled his eyes and both relaxed in their seat as the bus went through the tunnel, past the secret entrance they had left through before, and broke through onto the highway. "Well, might as well get some sleep."

"You do that." Jason said, looking out the window at all the cars that passed by. It was a rather long trip, sixty minutes and thirty-two seconds by Jason's count. Boy did he get bored on that bus. He figured since they were leaving camp something bad would happen, but then, about twenty minutes in to the drive, he remembered Mercury's duties and figured the god must have blessed the both of them. Well, that just took all excitement out of it.

They got off of the greyhound at the corner of a suburban neighborhood and Naruto readjusted his bracers, the sun gleaming off of the golden tridents catching Jason's eye. He remembered the first time Naruto had used them in what he dubbed his 'favorite' War Game, Gladiator Fights. Naruto and Jason were knocked out early by Tim, who was the reigning champion, but Naruto had managed to get a few good hits in that left a mighty big black eye on the Praetor's face. Since then, Naruto had been getting hand-to-hand lessons from Tim while Rachel taught Jason how to better use his spear, since that was her weapon of choice as well.

"So where does she live, exactly?" Jason asked. Naruto looked down at the card he'd been handling with extreme care.

"546 43rd Avenue." Naruto said. The two blondes looked at the street sign near them. "That's the 42nd...Wow, we're lucky."

"Zack must rub off on us...That or Mercury blessed us without us knowing." Jason said.

"Probably both." Naruto said, shrugging.

The two of them walked towards the next block and rounded the corner, looking at the street houses until coming across a skinny, two storied red house. Gold numbers hung above the garage matching the ones on the card in Naruto's hand. Naruto stood at the end of the driveway for a moment.

"Nar...Stop fidgeting. It's only a house. I'm pretty sure it won't hate you." Jason said.

"Shut up, Jason!" Naruto said, a bit red in the cheeks.

"...Stop fiddling with your shirt and let's go already."

"Ju-just give me a minute, okay?"

Jason sighed but could understand. Naruto probably had so many thoughts rushing through his head, Jason imagined they'd be of the same strand as his own if he met Thalia. 'Would she like me?' being the key thought going through their head. Love wasn't a factor here...okay, maybe it was a little, but liking as in approving of how they (Jason and Naruto) grew up was a bigger issue. It was one thing not to love you at all, because as Misaki constantly told them, love was the strongest and most malleable of emotions mortals – and gods – had. Liking someone for who they were was a whole different story.

A good example of this is Octavian, a slimy member of the First Cohort that just didn't feel right to Jason and Naruto. They would probably never love him and they most definitely wouldn't like him. But Misaki, however, was a girl that thought herself better and showed that she could change her views, causing Jason and Naruto to change their own. Now, does that mean Jason doesn't think she's up to something? No. Jason _knows_ Misaki is up to something, but he can understand that it is who she is and accept her for it.

"Ready?" Jason asked after giving his friend another minute. Naruto took a deep breath before nodding, walking up with Jason to the door. Stepping up to the stoop, Naruto raised his hand to knock on the door, but hesitate. Jason, a bit fed up of waiting, and tired from doing nothing on the bus, lifted his hand and knocked on the door.

"Dude!"

"Shut up. You took too long."

"One moment!" A woman's voice called, muffled by the door and sounding a bit distant. They waited on the stoop and just when Naruto shifted his foot in preparation to bolt – Jason would've stopped him, he didn't ride on that bus for an hour just to not to meet this woman Naruto was so insistent (understandably so) about meeting – the door flung open. A woman opened the door, dressed in sweatpants, flip-flops and a white tank top underneath a blue apron that said Hott Momma with orange and red lettering on it. Her red hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, but she still had the tension and alert shoulders of a soldier.

Jason watched from the side as Naruto looked up and the woman looked down, his friend's green eyes meeting with the woman's strange variation of violet. Naruto opened his mouth to say something when he was enveloped in a tight hug, the woman starting to sob openly. All of her tension and alertness melted away as she cried.

"You're home. You're really home." She said through her tears. The woman pushed Naruto away for a second, cupping his cheeks as their eyes met again. "My little maelstrom..."

"...Hi M-Mom..." Naruto said, finally. It made the redheaded woman let out a mix of a choked sob and a laugh before she hugged him again.

"My baby's home." She said, turning and kissing him on the cheek and making Naruto groan. Jason couldn't help but snicker at that, making the woman realize there was someone else there. "Oh...Hello."

"Uh, hi Ms. Uzumaki. I'm Jason Grace."

"Hello, Jason," she said, smiling. "I'm Kushina Uzumaki. You can call me Kushina, I'm not one for formalities."

"If you say so..."

"I insist." Kushina said, cutting him off. "How do you know Naruto?"

"I, uh, I'm a friend of Naruto's from camp." Jason said.

"He's also my pack-brother." Naruto said with a grin. At Kushina confused glance, Naruto elaborated. "Lupa prepared him for camp alongside me."

"Please don't mention her around me, munchkin." Kushina said, easily falling into old habits as she ushered both boys in.

"Munchkin?" Naruto and Jason asked.

"Oh yes. You're my little munchkin." Kushina said, pulling Naruto into another hug and kissing him on the cheek again. "So easily portable."

"Like during that game of D-Ball." Jason said, smirking at the flushed cheeks of his friend. Oh the dirt he would have on Naruto after all this was over. Kushina laughed at her son's pout and his friend's snickering, leading them into the dining room. She sat them down and went to the kitchen.

"Can I get you two anything to drink?" She asked.

"Some orange juice if you have it, please." Jason said.

"I'll take a glass of water." Naruto said. Jason shoved him for his lack of manners, making Naruto roll his eyes. He sniffed the air after a second and Jason swore that he froze in his seat. His green eyes dilated and a bit of drool started to pool up at the corner of his mouth. "...Mom...what are you cooking?"

"Hm? Oh! Well, since I got that random email for a small chain store called Neptune's Niche, I was thinking about my munchkin and made some ramen." Kushina said, walking back in with a glass of water and orange juice.

"Ramen?!" Naruto asked, looking like a kid in the candy store.

"Yes." Kushina said with a smile, ruffling his hair. "My little munchkin truly is home." While Naruto groaned at the cutesy name, Kushina looked to Jason. "Can I get you some ramen, too, Jason?"

"What's ramen?" Jason asked. Naruto looked as though Jason just committed blasphemy against the gods themselves while Kushina arched a brow.

"What's ramen? Dear me, that camp must starve you." Kushina said, her head shaking in disapproval. "You're having a bowl, no arguments about it."

Kushina ducked into the kitchen and with ease came back out with two steaming bowls of noodles, setting one in front of a giddy Naruto and the other in front of a hesitant Jason. Jason didn't want to be rude, unlike his friend who was currently inhaling the food like a vacuum, and so tentatively took his offered chopsticks. He had a bit of an issue handling the utensils, but Kushina helped him out, getting a sheepish thanks from the son of Jupiter.

After the first bite, Jason understood why Naruto loved the stuff. He wasn't an immediate addict like the son of Neptune, who was already being served a second helping, but wasn't going to say he didn't enjoy the taste. Eagerly, Jason continued to eat and even had a second helping, which was strange because he normally had one serving that sated him.

Once Jason finished his second and Naruto finished his fourth serving, Kushina began to ask questions about the camp.

"So D-Ball. Is that a game you play at camp?" Kushina asked. Naruto nodded eagerly, being a huge fan of war games in general.

"Yeah! According to Rachel, it's like some mortal-er, civilian game of paintball. Only with fireballs, acid balls, poison balls, spike balls and other dangerous stuff." Naruto said, making Kushina twitch.

"...How dangerous exactly?" Kushina asked.

"Not too dangerous." Jason said. "No one's died in ten years. The camp's perfected a lot of antidotes since then." He gave Naruto a dry look. "And mister water healer doesn't have to worry about too much."

"Jealous, _Jay-Jay_?" Naruto asked with a smirk as he used his friend's hated nickname.

"...Shut up." Jason said, scowling at his friend. "And don't call me that."

"Aw, but it's cute. I'll bet your mother calls you that all the time." Kushina said with a tittering laugh. When Jason said nothing, she gave him a confused look again. "She doesn't?"

"I don't know who my mother is." Jason said, shrugging it off nonchalantly. "I was with Lupa since I was two and left her with Naruto when I was four."

"I'm so sorry, Jason." Kushina said with a sad look on her face. She blinked and Jason cringed as a look of manic concern crossed her face. "Wait, you left Lupa when you were four!?"

"She said we were ready." Naruto said, shrugging.

"She kicked you out?!" Kushina asked, her voice rising a pitch. "That-! I can't even-! What kind of mother is she!? Stupid...I should've never listened to your father and just followed my gut and taken you on a boat! Letting two four year olds run around unattended!"

"We were fine." Naruto said, his confused green eyes showing that he did not understand why she was so upset. "We managed to get to camp and we killed that boar, too!"

"Which was your fault." Jason said.

"Dude, just let it go." Naruto said, groaning.

"Is there anything else I should know about this camp?" Kushina asked.

Naruto shrugged. "Not anything I can think of. I mean, after we got in and talked to the Praetors, they're the heads of the Legion-"

"That you have to serve for ten years, yes I read that brochure when it came in the mail." Kushina said, smiling as her concern about never seeing her baby again was washed away. "Continue."

"Well, after we met Rachel and Tim, we got our tattoos and–"

"Tattoos?" Kushina asked, cutting Naruto off again. Naruto beamed and lifted his shirt up, missing Jason's curt look to not do just that. Jason was good at sensing when danger was near, but Naruto...not so much. Rolling his shirt up and showing off the trident with the SPQR and six lines underneath it, Naruto was taken by surprise when Kushina grabbed his arm and looked at it with anger building on her face. "You have a tattoo!? You're only ten!"

"Yeah, but I've had mine since I was four."

"FOUR?!"

"Jason got one, too!"

"WHAT?!"

"Traitor." Jason said, glaring at his apologetic looking friend. Kushina rounded on him quickly.

"Let me see it." Kushina said, her rage just about to reach its limit. Not really in the mood to argue with the older, stronger and way more infuriated woman, Jason pulled his sleeve up. Seeing the eagle and the same amount of lines pushed the rage past that limit. "Those-I can't believe they would brand you! They're coming off!"

"What?!" "No!" Naruto and Jason said, Jason pushing his sleeve down and shifting away from the woman.

"Naruto Uzumaki, you will listen to me. That _tattoo_ is coming off!" the way Kushina said tattoo had so much malice in it that Jason was sure she would've removed every tattoo ever designed if she could've. "And you, Jason Grace, yours is coming off as well!"

"You can't!" Naruto said, covering his arm. "We earned these!"

"Earned them – Naruto, you don't need a tattoo!" Kushina said. "This is a permanent mark on your body, the body I spent _ten_ months making thank you very much. I have every right to say what does and does not get inked into your arm!"

"It's not an ink though." Jason said. Kushina swiveled her gaze on him. "It's burned with sacred tools made by Vulcan."

"...Bullshit." Kushina said. "You were _burned_?!"

"They're marks of valor!" Jason quickly continued. "The more marks you have gives you seniority and acts as an access pass into and out of New Rome!"

"New Rome?" Kushina asked. She thought for a second. "The small city...And why should I care if you can get in and out of there?"

"Because all demigods live there." Jason said.

"And after ten years their families can move in, too!" Naruto said, making Kushina look at him.

"...So you need those _things_ to move your family in, hm?" Kushina asked after a moment of thought. Jason came to pretty much the same conclusion she did. In a few more years that meant she could legally, by Roman standards, move in to the city that was close to where her son went to camp. That would be good for everyone. To their relief, Kushina sighed and sat down, her hand on her head. "Fine, just...No other ones, please."

"Okay." Both boys said, giving each other a grin.

"Now, tell me you're making more friends at camp. Not that you're not charming, Jason." Kushina said, smiling lightly and making him blush lightly.

"Oh yeah! There's Zack, Edward, Rachel, Abby, Samantha, Michelle-" Naruto said, ticking his friends off on his fingers.

"My what a little player," Kushina said with a smile.

"What?" Naruto asked. Jason actually joined Naruto in looking confused, becoming even more so when Kushina laughed.

"Aw, you're both so adorable when you're confused." She said with a smile. "Never mind. They're all your age?"

"Well, the only friend we have our age outside of the Cohort is Misaki." Naruto said.

"Misaki?" Kushina asked, smiling. "What's she like?"

"She's a daughter of Venus." Jason said, shrugging. "Pretty girly, but still a Roman."

"She's got a _lot_ of friends." Naruto said. Jason shook his head and made eye contact with Kushina, mouthing the word 'minions'. The redheaded woman gave a giggle at that.

"Well I'm glad to hear that you're making friends." Kushina said, smiling. "How's the education of this camp?"

"I dunno." Naruto said with a shrug. He wasn't a fan of education.

Jason rolled his eyes. "If you'd listen to Rachel, you'd know that camp's standards are up to date with the state of California's Department of Education regulation and is equal to the best schools in the country. We even have a college in New Rome that's on par with Harvard or other Ivy League schools."

"Well _that's_ very good to know." Kushina said with an approving nod.

"Of course the Golden Boy would know that." Naruto said with a teasing smirk.

"Munchkin." Jason said, making Naruto's smirk fall.

"Not cool, Jason." He said.

"Oh, but you're always going to be my munchkin!" Kushina said, reaching over to rake her hands through his hair.

"Mom!" Naruto said with a groan.

Jason gave a soft laugh at that.

"You shouldn't be laughing, _Jay-Jay_." Kushina said.

"Mom!" Jason said, flushing at his slip when the two Uzumaki gave him strange looks. "I mean...sorry."

Kushina's look turned into a soft warm smile. "You can call me Mom if you want, Jay-Jay. I always wanted a big family."

"You are my pack-brother." Naruto said, grinning. "It's like we really are brothers!"

"You could pull it off." Kushina said. She smiled at the son of Jupiter. "So what do you say, Jason? Would you like to be an honorary Uzumaki?"

Jason didn't know what to think of that. He didn't want to accidently replace his sister, Thalia, but at the same time he was being offered a mother. He couldn't remember his own mother, and it was a strong subject of internal conflict for a few months one year until Rachel confronted him. He wanted to have what Naruto had, he was a little jealous of his friend for having the family member they came to visit. This was a genuine offer, and with a bit of both hesitation and excitement, Jason finally answered.

"If you'll have me."

"Of course we would, Jay-Jay."

Jason didn't dare to frown or scowl, knowing it was meant mostly with love and not teasing. He smiled brightly at the woman, his new adoptive mother. This wasn't going to be one of the decisions he regretted.

"Wonderful! This calls for more ramen to celebrate!" Kushina said. Naruto threw his hands up and cheered while Jason laughed and shrugged.

Well it's as they say; when in Rome.

* * *

 **AN: And there's chapter three! Hope you all enjoyed it. This one was mostly a brain baby of Engineer's. I just made it look pretty.  
**

 **Give me your thoughts...But first, shout out to Uzumaki kamikaze Jesus! Why? Because I'm immature and his name made me giggle.**

 **Thanks for following me, UkJ!**

 **REVIEW!**


	4. IV

**Co-written by Engineer4Ever.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Percy Jackson and the Olympians**_ **.**

 **Son of the Earthshaker**

 **IV**

* * *

After a month of visiting with his and Jason's new mother, Naruto was preparing to go back home to Camp Jupiter. His mom had done all she could to help the two ten-year-old Romans fit in and be comfortable in the 'mortal world' as she jokingly called it, and Naruto was so grateful that he had an awesome mom. Jason got a room on the second floor, keeping it rather Spartan as his mom called it and Naruto was moved into the room across from him.

Naruto filled his walls with several posters of movies that his mother showed them one weekend, his favorite being the motion picture of the hit cartoon show Transformers: The Movie. He was still ten, you can't judge him. He loved all of it, even without knowing the characters – Optimus Prime was so badass and Springer was always cool and collected – fully, which would change after he found a way to watch the old show at camp. And he would find a way. He swore on the awesome adrenaline rush of a song written by Stan Bush.

New rollerblades from one night at a skate park adorned his desk, green wheels that matched his eyes hooking to the black boots. According to one of the workers there, he was a natural and whenever he could, would go out in the morning or night to get a skate in. On his second week he grinded a rail for the first time and promptly wiped out. His mom fretted over his sprained ankle and the gash on his calf until Jason grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and poured it over the wound, making it good as new. Jason griped over lucky healing powers while Naruto said the three-lettered F-word, making Jason groan and admit he couldn't do that...yet.

Naruto chalked it up to a victory in his favor.

"Naruto! Hurry up! Jason's ready to move the throw rug!" Kushina said as she called up the stairs, making her son snicker. During one outing to the local mall, their small group of three was attacked by a large swarm of hellhounds. Naruto and Jason held their own easily, the mortal onlookers were talking about some punk gang getting their what-for, until Kushina shot one with her special clip as it tried to sneak up on her. Then they had to deal with the mortal police, which both Naruto and Kushina found to be a pain while Jason thought they were a minor inconvenience. What remained of the hellhounds were furs that Kushina sewed together into a rug with a golden V in the middle for the cohort.

Naruto zipped up his new duffle bag – a gift from his mother while Jason chose a simple single-strap backpack that had a red spiral on it – and slung it over his shoulder. The green-eyed blond rushed from his room, down the stairs and into his mother, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. Kushina swiftly returned the hug and kissed him on the head.

"Are you sure you have to leave?" She asked, squeezing him lightly. "Just a few more days, right?"

"Sorry Mom. I'm starting to get antsy without being able to do much training." Naruto said, getting a whine from her. "I promise we'll visit again as soon as possible."

"We'll write, too." Jason said, getting an enthusiastic nod from his friend. He had the gift-wrapped rug on its end and was leaning against it.

"You'd both better. And tell me as soon as you turn fourteen. Both of you." Kushina said, kissing Naruto's cheek again. "Be safe, Munchkin."

"Mom!" Naruto said with a whine.

Kushina let him go and then wrapped Jason in a hug before kissing his cheek. "You too, Jay-Jay."

"Mom!" Jason whined this time.

"And both of you find some nice girls for me to meet." Kushina said, smiling at both boys after releasing them.

"MOM!" Both boys said with a tint of pink on their cheeks. Kushina laughed and opened the door, letting Naruto grab the rug easily carrying it under his arm. Both of them turned back around at the end of the drive, waving goodbye to the smiling and teary-eyed woman. They walked back to the bus stop and Jason looked at the rug Naruto was carrying.

"Need any help?"

"Nah, I've got it."

In minutes, the bus arrived and picked the two boys up. Both had smiles on their faces, happy with how the past month went. Jason was a new member of his family and Naruto had gotten to meet his mother after years of separation. They just knew that things were going to be great from there on out. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

* * *

The world was falling apart, Naruto just knew it. As he sat in his seat going over his strategic warfare booklet given to him by Rachel, the now twelve-year-old son of Neptune groaned. The sky had been dark ever since the winter solstice and the ocean had been angry lately, a few legionnaires who went on leave told him as such when they reported their failure to enjoy the beach. Not that there was a lot of chances with how often it stormed.

Something bad has happened and quite frankly, Naruto was not pleased about being outside of the know.

"Naruto, please be quiet." Jason said, sounding a bit frustrated himself. He was also filling out a similar packet, though it was a year more advanced than Naruto's own.

"But this is so boring." Naruto said, groaning as he rubbed his head. "And I've got a killer headache."

"You're not the only one." Jason said, putting his pencil down. He rubbed his temples. "I've been having some weird dreams lately."

"Two giant gladiators fighting?" Naruto asked. He shuddered as he remembered that dream. The two gladiators fought so ferociously, Naruto was actually afraid he was too close to the action. One had a spear in hand while the other had a trident, both stabbing and bashing each other, often matching strength and coming to deadlocks that shook the ground.

"Actually an eagle attacking a horse, but close enough." Jason said. "Do you get the strange feeling that maybe something is going on?"

"Jay, I've been telling you for weeks that something ain't right." Naruto said. "And Zack agrees with me."

"Zack's too superstitious." Jason said.

"Superstition has saved many a life, Jason." Abigail said as she entered the cohort to check on the two up-and-coming powerhouses of the Legion.

"Hi Abby!" Naruto said with a bright grin. He felt his cheeks heat up a bit at seeing his crush smile at his enthusiastic greeting. The older girl was a knockout, standing at a solid five foot eight with her signature braid hanging over her shoulder. The green-eyed blond just couldn't help having a crush on her. In Naruto's opinion, she was gorgeous.

Of course, Naruto didn't see Jason roll his eyes when the son of Neptune spoke. It was always like this and Naruto was just too oblivious to realize that he made his crush very obvious unintentionally. Poor guy.

"Hello Naruto." Abigail said, still smiling. "Jason. I was coming to check on you two anyway. Edward has been voicing concerns about you both talking in your sleep."

"I talk in my sleep?" Naruto asked. "I mean, Jason drools sometimes..."

"Naruto. You're the one that drools."

"Shut up, Jay."

"Boys," Abigail said, amused, in an attempt to get their attention back on her. "What have you been dreaming about?"

The two blonds shared a look before looking back at their Augur with a bit of concern in their eyes. Jason went first, talking about his dreams for the past few days and then Naruto gave his own, speaking of two gladiators going all out in an arena while he helplessly watched from the sidelines.

After hearing both of their concern, Abigail's eyes went wide before returning to normal. Jason caught it and asked what was wrong, only for Abigail to wave him off.

"Continue with your studies." Abigail said, giving them a smaller than usual smile. "I must go speak with our praetors."

She left swiftly without explanation, getting confused looks from the boys before they went back to their work, the son of Neptune complaining of headaches and the son of Jupiter telling him to stop complaining before he got a headache himself. They were starting to grate on each other's nerves, but the situation was diffused when the rest of their cohort returned. Before the centurions could deliver any orders, the ground shook tremendously, sending many of the cohort to their feet. As soon as it passed, all eyes went to Naruto, who looked back at them with wide eyes.

"Wasn't me!" he said quickly. Edward scrutinized him for a moment, as if evaluating his words, before giving him a light smile.

"I know, Naruto." Edward said. Whispers swiftly followed that and Naruto clenched his fists at what he heard.

"As expected of the Earthshaker's offspring."

"Wonder how many he killed in Sacramento."

"Just like that other guy."

"Quiet!" Edward said, stepping over to stand beside Naruto. His false arm held the blond's shoulder reassuringly. "Naruto would've had to have good reason to cause an earthquake, and so far he hasn't. Maybe there's another reason-!"

The door was flung open and two older Roman Legionnaires entered, fully decked out in armor and wielding spears and shields. The lead legionnaire stepped forward before he spoke.

"The son of Neptune has been called before the senate to explain himself!" The legionnaire said. "He will come with us. Now."

"...Of course. Go Naruto. We're right behind you." Edward said, turning the now paler Naruto around toward the guard and giving him a gentle shove. Naruto looked to Jason for some help, not getting a look as he continued to stand at attention.

* * *

Shortly later, Naruto stood in front of the senate with his fists clenched and sweat trailing down the side of his face. Sixty men and women of New Rome sat in rising seats, all looking down at him with stony faces while the Lars of previous generations hovered nearby, ranging in appearance from the original Rome to the late eighteen hundreds. The Cohorts and Praetors were also in attendance, looking at him from the sides of the rest of the room.

"Naruto Uzumaki, son of Neptune and Legionnaire of the Fifth Cohort. You are accused of causing an earthquake already reported to have caused three buildings to collapse, fourteen deaths and wounding dozens of mortals in the city of San Francisco alone. If found guilty of these crimes, you will be stripped of rank, discharged and evicted from the walls of Camp Jupiter. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty!" Naruto said instantly. "I didn't do it, I swear!"

"Liar!"

"He's a son of Neptune!"

"They're nothing but trouble!"

"Silence!" Tim ordered, his voice carrying throughout the room and silencing the voices of other younger legionnaires. He nodded to the head of the senate to continue.

"Would anyone like to testify on the behalf or against the accused?" the head of the senate asked.

"I'll testify, senator!" A member of the First Cohort said as he slipped through the crowd. Naruto looked at the newcomer and was met with a steely glare from the legacy of Apollo. Octavian stood taller than the blond, giving a good impression of an honorable man as he cradled a...torn stuffed whale? "I'm the next Augur to be, Octavian, legacy of Apollo. I have seen in my visions the accused standing before you! He caused the damage done to the mortal city! He, the son of the Earthshaker, has done his father's bidding to punish us for putting him in the Fifth Cohort!"

"I love the Fifth!" Naruto protested despite the whispers.

"You say you do, but you yearn to be in the First! To be among elites!" Octavian said. He silently smirk as the dissent among the senate and cohorts continued.

"Like you?" another speaker asked. Misaki slipped out from the Second Cohort's crowd and stepped forward. "I speak in defense of the accused. You, honored senators and Praetors, would take the word of this legacy? A boy not even yet claimed Augur and speaking of seeing the future through the methods of a haruspex?"

Octavian's teeth grit at that and the senate suddenly turned from whispering about Naruto to him. This wasn't what he had hoped for. He had hoped to accomplish two things here, and so far neither was happening. He glared at his accuser and spoke.

"You, a member of the Second, would defend a lowlife such as -?" Misaki, who turned on him and glared so hard he felt a shiver form, cut him off.

"Naruto Uzumaki is a member of the legion, and while not prestigious, is still far more powerful than you would ever hope to be, _Octavian_!" She said loudly, reminding the senate why Naruto was in the legion to begin with and slandering Octavian at the same time. She opened her mouth to speak again when a Ancient Roman Lar flew down, standing before the senate.

"I bring news!" he said, speaking in a serious voice. "The Lars have spoken to servants of Pluto and have learned it was _he_ who caused the earthquake. He was angered by something happening in the East. So if we are to blame anything at all, it is he, the Lord of us dead!"

"Thank you, Cato." Rachel said, looking visibly relieved for Naruto. She stood. "The Lars have spoken, and one has spoken in defense of the accused. I move for this mockery of a trial to be abolished and for the accused to be let go. All in favor?"

The room echoed positively while Naruto grit his teeth. He gets accused of causing a lot of deaths, threatened with expulsion from the camp, betrayed by people he thought of as friends and at the word of one dead guy it's all waved off? Was that what justice was?

"Then this meeting is dismissed. The Cohorts will return to the barracks post-haste." Tim said.

"Wait! Don't I get an apology or something?" Naruto asked, getting looked at like he was crazy.

"Whatever for?" a senator asked from a few seats up. "The charges were dropped. You are free to go."

"You still accused me!" Naruto said, his nails digging into his palm. "Doesn't that count for something!?"

He was met with silence as they left, leaving the boy to simmer in his anger.

"Naruto, just let it go..." Jason said, stepping forward to grab his shoulder. He looked shocked when Naruto jerked out of his grasp and glared at him.

"Don't touch me." Naruto said as he stormed past his cohort back towards Camp Jupiter, leaving a stunned Jason standing there before Edward called for him to hurry up.

* * *

After the cohorts filed out, Misaki quickly sought out Octavian, stopping him before he rejoined his cohort with a glare.

"You tread carefully, _haruspex_." She hissed at him. The daughter of Venus looked infuriated. "If you try to ruin Naruto ever again, the disgrace you will feel will cause you to flee from camp in shame. Or you'll die. I haven't decided yet."

"I would like to see you try." He said with a sneer.

"I promise you, there will be stories of it for eons to come." Misaki said lowly before turning with a huff. She looked back at him with a smirk. "By the way, might want to wipe that brown stuff off your nose. It kind of smells."

Octavian glared at her as she left, rejoining with a few other girls of her cohort. He turned to leave when he was met with his soon-to-be predecessor, who looked at him with a scowl.

"We need to have a conversation about your lying, Octavian." Abigail said. She launched into a scolding about how their ancestor would be ashamed of him and how if he ever did it again he would loose his chance to be the augur and probably go on suspension. Octavian paid her half-mind, already plotting about his next plan to jump up the ladder of his success.

* * *

"Naruto, what's wrong with you?" Jason asked once he caught up to his friend.

"What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with _me_!? My best friend just left me hanging while I got accused of causing an earthquake that killed people!" Naruto said.

"What? I didn't agree with them!"

"You didn't exactly stand up for me either, Jason!" Naruto said, giving his friend a betrayed look. "I thought that my brother would've been the first to jump to my defense."

"Naruto, I'm just a legionnaire like you, my word wouldn't have any say!" Jason said.

"Your word...Jason you're the _son_ of Jupiter!" Naruto said. "You're the legion's Golden Boy. Your word probably could've turned some of the senate onto my side. Instead, I got Octy the slime bucket using Neptune against me and Misaki barely managed to stall for enough time for me to slip through the justice's cracks."

"Naruto-"

"Save it, Jason. You could've stepped forward, but you didn't. You chose to play the Golden Boy by keeping your mouth shut like a good soldier instead of stepping up to help your brother." Sea green eyes met electric blues with a glare. "And _that_ says a lot."

He turned and walked away, leaving Jason stunned with slumped shoulders while an uncomfortable feeling of guilt weighed down over him.

* * *

A week had passed since the trial and Naruto had kept his distance from those who were 'against' him. He put all of his anger into the training that he was going through, training himself into the dirt each night for the upcoming gladiator fight. Tim was competing and the victor of the match would lead a quest to recover a Roman relic lost on a previous venture. Leading a quest and returning successfully would clear any doubt the rest of his peers had, so Naruto thought, and winning the gladiator fight would be exactly the proof of his worthiness to be in the Legion.

Jason had tried to talk to him several times, but each time Naruto gave him the cold shoulder. He didn't want to talk to Jason. Naruto still felt hurt that his friend, his _brother_ , hadn't done anything to help him. He refused to talk about it, and each time Jason walked over to him in an effort to talk it out, Naruto would go back to that scene in the barracks where Jason just stood by and watched as he was marched out like a convict.

So he distanced himself from his brother, finding a comforting presence in Abigail's sessions to help him with the dreams about the black haired boy that held a bolt of lightning. Abigail would say that it was a metaphor for his relationship with Jason, the black hair being Naruto's own anger and the lightning representing the son of Jupiter, but Naruto didn't feel like that was the case. There was something off about that dream, and the boy looked too different. Sure, they both had green eyes, but the boy looked...scrawnier. Now, Naruto wasn't a bulked up piece of beef like Tim or any other son of Mars, but he was a bit broader in the shoulders than most twelve year olds would be. This kid just looked like a regular mortal, but again, something told him that wasn't the case.

As it was, Naruto was just leaving his session with Abigail, talking about the upcoming gladiator fight and how he was going to kick Tim's ass, when he had to once more decline Misaki's invitation to play 'hooky'. Normally, Naruto wouldn't mind a bit of relaxation now and then, but right now he needed to be busy. He _had_ to win. And not even Misaki's pout would stop him from getting this chance.

"Sorry, Misaki." Naruto gave her an apologetic smile as he walked towards the training grounds. "Maybe after the gladiator fight!"

"That's two days from now!" Misaki pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Poo."

Misaki kicked the dirt and glared at the Augur's door before storming off to find the one person she could vent at without repercussions. She found her vent wallowing in his grub at the mess hall, getting a comforting pat on the shoulder from the older son of Fortuna. Smirking, she made her way over and caught on to the end of the conversation.

"I just don't know what to do...I mean, you had a legit excuse with that broken leg. You were stuck in the infirmary for two days and that just happened to be the second one."

"Don't remind me," Zack said with a groan as he rubbed his leg. "Look, Jason. I'm not going to tell you what you did was right or wrong, because frankly, it kind of was both. I am going to tell you to just let him be and give him some space. You guys were practically together all the time til then, this is good for you. Branch out a bit and connect with others."

"And leave Naruto behind?" Jason asked.

"He's not saying that, Jay-Jay. And shame on you for thinking it!"

Jason groaned and let his head fall into his hands. "Please tell me that's not who I think it is."

Zack chuckled. "She's not that bad. Take a seat, Misaki."

"Thank you, Zachary." Misaki said with a smile as she sat down across from Jason. She pouted at him. "You, Mister Grace, have got to get a hold of that rudeness."

"I'm going to go grey before I hit twenty." Jason said under his breath while he rubbed his temples with one hand. He straightened up and gave her a lighthearted glare. "I happen to be very polite, Misaki. It's just that, somehow, your grand and splendid personality brings out my 'ugly' side. Now, why is that, I wonder?"

"You're far too stiff, Jay-Jay." Misaki waved him off. "You'll never get a girlfriend at this rate. Maybe we should just have you get laid so you can relax."

Jason flushed bright red while Zack burst into laughter. The son of Jupiter grumbled through his embarrassment, his hands falling under the table and making gestures of strangulation. Calming down just around the time Zack got himself under control, Jason glared wholeheartedly at Misaki this time. "What did you want, Misaki?"

"So rude, Jay-Jay," Misaki said with a tittering laugh. She settled down and her smile fell into a pout. "Naruto is still brushing me off."

"Big shocker," Zack said, still amused. "Kid's going all out for this month's gladiator fight. He really wants to win."

"I couldn't care about his training. He needs it." Misaki said with her pout still in place. "I want to know why he's with Abigail all the time."

"Aside from sating his desire to see his crush?" Jason asked smugly, getting a heated glare from the daughter of Venus. The blonde huffed and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"What does she have anyway? She's not all that pretty," Misaki said. Zack snickered and Jason smirked.

"Well, Abigail was one of the first to stand up for Naruto. And she's smart. She's also one of the most beautiful girls in the legion. Then there's the fact that she's the Augur and a centurion of the Third Cohort. She's been helping him sort through this whole accused thing better than we could've if he'd let us, and Abigail is without a doubt the nicest girl in ca-." Misaki slamming her hands down on the table cut Jason off mid count.

"Shut up, Jay-Jay!" she said, a pout prominent on her face. Misaki crossed her arms over her chest. "Tell me all of my good qualities."

"You?" Jason asked. He snorted and replied dryly. "You don't _have_ any good qualities, Shokuhou."

Misaki gasped in horror while Zack wrapped his arms around his gut and laughed. Misaki's horrified face turned into one of indignant fury, her cheeks puffing up indignantly before she waved her hand at Jason. Immediately, Jason's clothes shrunk by two sizes, making the twelve year old gasp sharply and fall out of his seat as everything was constricted. Another wave had magic makeup that made him look like a clown cover his face. Misaki stood, walked over to the downed son of Jupiter and kicked him in the shin before storming off.

It took Zack ten minutes to calm down before he helped Jason back to his feet. Even then, he was still laughing a little.

"Wow, Jay. If you keep acting like that, you're never going to get a girlfriend," Zack said as Jason tugged at his shirt collar.

"I was just being honest, though," Jason said with a grunt. "I can't believe she did this to me."

"I can. And It. Is. Hilarious."

"Shut up, Zack. I need to go change." Jason said, walking carefully so as not to tear anything. Zack's laughter followed him out. He just hoped that she didn't hex his other clothes; he needed those for the gladiator fights.

* * *

It was the semi-finals of the gladiator matches and Naruto had been lucky enough to fight the champion and Praetor. They had been fighting for nearly three hours total, including the matches beforehand. Naruto's shirt was ripped to shreds, his jeans were caked in blood and tears, and he was sure that if it weren't for Neptune's gift of healing with contact of the sea god's domain, he would've died from blood loss by now. Naruto panted heavily as he stared down Tim, both on their last legs. The son of Mars had bruises all over his body and was down at least three teeth. Naruto, meanwhile, had lacerations all over his upper arms, shoulders and sides from Tim's blade. His forearms were protected by the gift from Neptune he received all those years ago.

Two golden gauntlets adorned his arms, shimmering in the afternoon sunlight as they replaced the bracers he had around his wrists. They had half a trident on both arms and an N engraved on the back of the hand. The knuckles of the gauntlets were slightly extended like a mortal's brass knuckles and leather protected from the middle of his fingers to the palm of his hands. The gold extended all the way to the edge of where Naruto's forearm ended and his elbow began, allowing him full use of the appendage unlike some gladiator armor.

"You do not yield before me, but you will always lose, Naruto," Tim said. He wiped his arm over his bloody mouth. "Without any bodies of water nearby, you are at my mercy."

"I don't know the meaning of the word," Naruto said in return between his heavy breaths. Tim was right though. Naruto wouldn't outlast him without some water to help. So, Naruto would have to do something he wasn't entirely sure would work.

"Good!" Tim said with a laugh. He gripped his sword with both hands and charged forward. "Then have the honor of falling at my blade once again!"

Naruto lifted his foot up and slammed it down into the dirt, a fissure shot out from the impact towards Tim. The blond ran forward, careful to not fall into the fissure that had formed, and watched as the crack split in two around Tim's foot. It caused that portion of the ground to collapse, which made the Praetor fall forward. Naruto leapt at the surprised Praetor, his right hand brought back before he threw it forward at Tim's face. The son of Mars succumbed to a superman punch that shook the arena on impact, being sent flying back into the wall and going through it.

Naruto landed on his side with a grunt and, after taking a few breaths, slowly got to his feet, his eyes not leaving the hole where he put Tim. He waited patiently for a few minutes before Rachel jumped down and looked into the hole. She turned around and raised her hand up with her thumb pointing down, making Naruto's jaw drop.

" _I...I don't believe it. ...The winner of this semi-final is the son of Neptune._ " The legacy of Mercury who had chosen to be the gladiator announcer said, astonished. " _Victory by knock-out._ "

The audience cheered for the victor and Naruto promptly fell to his back, exhausted. Rachel let the medics attend to her fellow Praetor and went to Naruto's side, pulling out a small bottle of water and pouring a bit on his head. Rejuvenation filled Naruto and he got back to his feet, gratefully taking the bottle from Rachel and taking a heavy drink from it. He was then led to the resting side of the arena. She gave him a pat on the shoulder and then walked to Tim's side, following the groggy Praetor to his seat in the stands.

"Nice job." A voice spoke up behind him. Naruto turned and looked at his friend who stood behind him. Unlike the son of Neptune, Jason hadn't been so lucky to have a quick pick me up from something as simple as water, so he used the other gift he had to his advantage – flight. Apparently it was something he figured out while Naruto was doing his own training, and frankly, Naruto was stumped as to how he would beat his friend if the Golden Boy kept himself in the air.

"Thanks," Naruto said crisply. He was still irked at his friend, but most of his anger had been dealt out to his opponents. None more so than Tim, who had this uncanny ability to bring the worst out of the legionnaires and centurions he faced. Naruto was sure he would've snapped and just collapsed the arena if he didn't knock the Praetor out with that last punch.

"I beat Derrick." Jason gestured over to the twitching member of the second Cohort, a legacy of Vulcan. "You and I are going to fight next."

"Well, I just hope I don't beat you up too much," Naruto said, despite liking the sound of that. Jason needed a good smack to the head now and again and Naruto was the only one who would (or could) oblige.

"That sounds pretty confident," Jason said with a frown. He had hoped to have a civil and honorable fight with his pack brother, but it seems Naruto's got his eye on the goal.

"I'm going to win this," Naruto said boldly, standing an inch shorter than his friend.

"Really?" Jason asked, rising to the challenge.

"Yep."

"You'd better give it your all, Nar. Because I'm not losing so easily."

"Count on it, Jay."

They held their gaze before the announcer called for them, both entering the arena together. Jason had Julius in his grasp, ready to be flipped, while Naruto flexed his own gauntlet-covered hands in anticipation. They got to the center of the arena and then took paces away from each other, neither breaking the eye contact they made. A soft wind blew through, both boys eyeing the other.

"BEGIN!" Rachel said, and Jason flipped his coin into the air. It came down and landed with the tails up, a lance appearing in his hand where the coin once was. Jason held the spear defensively and sidestepped with Naruto as the son of Neptune clenched his hands so hard that his knuckles cracked.

"Don't hold back." Naruto said.

"I don't plan to." Jason said in return.

Naruto grinned and then quickly raised his hands to catch the spearhead that was thrusted at him. Jason quickly tugged it back and turned to his other side, swinging the end of his lance at his friend with an added boost of wind. Naruto stumbled backwards, the force of the wind being too much for him. He lowered his arms and took a kick to the gut, stumbling back and quickly blocking the spear brought down on his arm. He countered with a 'light' palm thrust to Jason's chest. The son of Jupiter slid back, doubled over and breathing hard.

Naruto capitalized on his friend's hesitation, assaulting Jason with punches aimed at his head. One good hit would've ended the whole thing and both of them knew it. Jason used his spear to deflect the blows, falling back on the defensive to think up a plan. Naruto was playing for the win, as he suspected before, and so Jason would have to play just as hard.

A bolt of lightning fell from the sky and impacted next to Naruto, making him shoot to the side in the dirt. Naruto quickly got to his feet, resuming his assault and keeping Jason on the defensive. Jason blocked a right hook and released his spear with his right hand to throw some wind at Naruto's face. Naruto could handle this gust, but his eyes filled with tears from the added dust.

Jason swung the dull edge of his spear at Naruto's jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. Using this attack to his advantage, the son of Jupiter took to his father's domain, hovering above Naruto as the sky darkened behind him, blotting out the sun. Wind picked up around him and Jason used his spear to direct it at his friend. Naruto barely managed to roll out of the way in time, and, thinking quickly, scooped some of the dirt up and chucked it at his friend.

Jason batted the projectile of dirt away with ease, sending another bolt of lightning down and when Naruto dodged, assaulted him with a blast of wind that had the son of Neptune tumbling away. Jason flew after him with a bolt charging up at the tip of his spear. Naruto was now on the run, spectators jeering the fighters on and some outright calling for the son of Neptune's charred corpse. Naruto continued to run, jumping into a roll and slamming his arms together so the two halves of Neptune's trident merged. The symbol gave off a golden glow and a blue energy expanded outward from it, growing wide and circular into a shield. The next bolt hit it directly, bouncing back at the one who threw it. Jason moved and the lightning shot back up into the cloud. There was an offended boom of thunder.

Naruto separated his arms, the shield disappearing as soon as he did, and drove his hands into the ground. He strained for a moment before releasing a yell that snapped Jason out of his surprised daze, pulling a large amount of dirt out of the ground and lifting it over his head before throwing it at Jason. Far too large to deflect, Jason was forced to avoid it. He chose to dive to the side and Naruto arched a brow. They ignored the startled cries of their observers as the mound of dirt hit the stands. Jason looked from where the dirt hit to Naruto, who grinned at him. Electric blue eyes widened and sea green eyes narrowed.

A bolt flew from Jason's spear and Naruto threw another clump, both cancelling out. Jason tried a gust of wind, but Naruto's throws were too powerful. They were at a stalemate, Naruto and Jason continued to fight like this, the crowd now white noise to them. Their silent conversation, the argument they had weeks before, was continued. Naruto was mudslinging, aiming low and trying to get Jason to accept what he did was wrong while Jason spoke down to him, saying that it would've been out of line to interject where he wasn't wanted.

"It would have mattered!" Naruto finally shouted as he ripped the ground in front of him up. It was the size of a small car and Jason wouldn't have been able to slide out of the way, so he dove. Then Naruto struck, launching himself from the ground into the air and tackling Jason down to the dirt. Naruto climbed atop the downed son of Jupiter, drawing his left fist back and punching Jason across the face. Jason felt a tooth fly out and his lip split open. He knew that he couldn't take another hit like that and so he slipped his feet into Naruto's gut and pushed, sending Naruto tumbling off to his back.

Naruto rolled onto his hands and knees, his eyes glinting dangerously with the same rage that made his father so feared. With an angered cry he got to his feet and turned around, looking at the coughing and slowly rising Jason with a glare. Naruto gave another angered roar, slamming his right fist into the dirt as he struggled to control himself. He got up as Jason got to one foot and started to stand, jumping at his friend with his right hand cocked back.

"I! WIN!" Naruto roared once his fist made contact with Jason's jaw. Jason's eyes flashed before he hit the ground, everything dark. Naruto stood over the son of Jupiter, panting heavily as he looked at his knocked out friend. The audience was silent before they burst into cheers over the end of the gladiator match between the sons of Jupiter and Neptune.

" _The victor and the new champion of the gladiator arena, the leader of the quest for Scaevola's Dagger, Naruto Uzumaki! Son of Neptune!_ "

* * *

 **REVIEW!**


	5. V

**Co-written by Engineer4Ever.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Percy Jackson and the Olympians**_ **.**

 **Son of the Earthshaker**

 **V**

* * *

Naruto ran his fingers over the trident on his bracer, an action he used often to sooth his nerves. He was crouched at the edge of the camp's gates, waiting for his chosen squad to join him. His thoughts drifted to Abigail, wondering why she hadn't given him more explicit instructions on how to retain Scaevola's Dagger. Knowing the story well, Naruto hoped he didn't have to plunge his hand into fire or cut it off. Edward's hand looked cool, but he really wasn't that into it.

"Praetor!" The guard across from him snapped to attention and Naruto followed suit. Tim, his eye black and his left cheek still swollen, approached them and stopped in front of Naruto. His dark eyes peered into Naruto's green with a large amount of withheld hostility in them.

"Legionnaire Uzumaki," he said. "You are tasked with recovering Scaevola's Dagger, the weapon lost by a member of the Fifth led by Michael Varus. All we know is that Varus shamed the Legion and failed in his endeavor. He was said to have gone north in search of some answers. I would advise you to follow his tracks, but do not follow his lead."

"Yes, Praetor." Naruto nodded. The shame of Varus was a story every member of the Fifth learned very quickly. Naruto didn't plan on following the deceased Centurion's lead.

Tim turned to leave, but stopped and looked back. "And Uzumaki?"

Naruto didn't even blink at the threatening tone. "Yes, sir?"

Tim narrowed his eyes. "Do _not_ return without the Dagger."

"I don't plan to," Naruto said. "Sir!"

Tim nodded and walked off. Naruto and the guard both relaxed.

"What a grouchy bear."

Naruto jumped with his fist pulled back. He relaxed when he saw the giggling blonde with starry golden eyes. Naruto put his hand on his chest and relaxed. He scowled at the girl. "Misaki, don't sneak up on me like that!"

Misaki just tapped his nose, her playful smile on her face. "But Naruto, where's the fun if I don't?"

"Giving me a heart attack is fun, good to know," Naruto said dryly.

"Jay-Jay rubbed off on you," Misaki said with a pout.

Naruto frowned, thinking of his friend that was still unconscious from the day before. He punched just a _tad_ bit too hard and was afraid that he had accidentally knocked the Golden Boy into a coma. Naruto hoped that wasn't the case and that Jason was just out for a day or two.

Misaki saw his frown and decided to change topics. "So...where's our third? Or did they call in sick?"

"You wish." Zack chuckled as he walked up to join them. Strapped to a crisscrossing belt were two small pouches with short arrows and over his chest was a weapon Naruto blinked at.

"Is that one of the Vulcan Crossbows?" he asked.

"Yep." The one-eyed son of Fortuna grinned and pulled the ballista inspired weapon from his back. The crossbow was made from steel and the front of it was designed to look like a shrieking eagle. Zack pulled a bolt from his pouch and loaded it into the crossbow's line; the Imperial Gold tip gleamed in the sunlight. He took aim and fired at a tree on the other side of the Little Tiber. Zack rested the bow against his shoulder, looking like a strange mix of a pirate and a hunter; only he was wearing jeans and a purple shirt. "Cost me a bit of my winnings at cards, but I think it was worth it."

"Not bad. Reload must take some time, though," Naruto said.

"I only need one clear shot and a good position to shoot from," Zack said. He holstered his crossbow and crossed his arms. "Are we ready to go or what?"

Naruto nodded and turned to the open doors. He led his two companions out and stopped to acknowledge Terminus. "We set out for Scaevola's Dagger."

"Take heed, Legionnaires, the Olympians are restless. Dangers long since forgotten are popping up now more than ever," Terminus said. "Return successfully or don't bother at all. Aut vincere aut mori."

"Conquer or die." The three nodded to him after they recited the camp's motto in English. Terminus nodded back and then looked forward, to the woods. They crossed the Little Tiber and left to the tunnel where they would hitch a ride to cross through most of California.

* * *

They left the heart of the Golden State by taxi. Naruto attributed it to Mercury smiling upon them and thanked the god for the safe passage. Then he cursed Venus under his breath for making Misaki so clingy when she slept. As if the back seat of the cab wasn't crowded enough by the three of them alone, Zack being nearly full grown while Naruto was a bit broader than his fellow eleven year olds at camp. And while she might say otherwise, Misaki was not adorably portable. She took up half his seat and left a huge gap between herself and Zack.

Naruto groaned as the cabbie drove over a bump; it made him hit his head on the window. He was doing everything in his power not to whack his head on Misaki's, who had claimed his shoulder as her pillow. Misaki's head lightly bounced against his arm and grumbled as she snuggled deeper against him. Naruto glared at the back of the driver's head.

"Hey, we paid you to get us to the north border, not go over potholes at every turn," Naruto said.

"You wanted to get north, right? This is the fastest way," the man said. Naruto looked at the driver's ID on the back of the seat. The man's face was impish and reminded Naruto of the fauns that would laze about Camp Jupiter due to his sideburns and curly hair. His name was, oddly enough, Jason. Jason P. Garrick.

"I can't thank you enough, Mr. Garrick," Naruto said. He shifted his now numb shoulder and Misaki grumbled, wrapping her arms around his tightly. "I mean, driving us for six hours already..."

"Hey, as long as the money is good, I'll take you as far as you need to go. Just don't tell my boss, okay?" Garrick grinned into the mirror.

Naruto vaguely felt that the grin was familiar but brushed it off. "Yeah. So, how far into Oregon can you take us?"

"I've got a sister that works as a park ranger at Crater Lake," Garrick said. "Won't be cheap though."

Naruto shuffled his left arm into his pocket as best he could, Misaki was really good at keeping him in place, and dug around for a moment. He pulled out a golden coin that looked like Julius.

"A dollar coin? I don't think that'll cut it kid," Garrick said. Naruto grinned.

"It's from Ancient Rome. The market value is about fifty thousand Euros."

Garrick pulled over to a curb with a screech. He got out of his seat and opened the back door. His hand was held out expectantly and there was a gleam in his eye.

"If you're lying, I'll have the three of you in juvie faster than you can say 'money'," he said. Naruto put the coin in his hand and Garrick began turning it over this way and that. He finally brought it up to his mouth and bit down on it. Garrick pulled it away and pocketed the coin. "Very well! I'm a man of my word. To Crater Park it is!"

"Are we there?" Zack asked as he woke up from Garrick's enthusiasm.

"No," Naruto said as the cab started to drive again. He tried to get comfortable, but Misaki was making it difficult. "Hey, can you wake her up? I'm loosing feeling in my arm."

Zack looked at Misaki blearily and poked her in the shoulder. Misaki groaned and hid her face in Naruto's arm. Zack looked back at Naruto and shrugged. He adjusted himself in his seat and leaned against the window. "Wake me when we get wherever we're going."

"What? Wait, no, Zack, I want to sleep too! Dude, come on!"

* * *

They arrived at Crater Lake National Park three hours later. Eventually Naruto did fall asleep, but his was more akin to a nap than a good rest. His arm was numb from the shoulder down and his legs were like noodles...and not the good kind! Naruto needed a second before he could get out of the taxi.

"Mm, that felt _really_ good!" Misaki said as she stretched her arms above her head once she was out of the cab. She turned to Naruto with a smile on her face. "How'd you sleep, Naruto?"

Naruto was torn between lying and glaring at Misaki. Not wanting to lie to a friend and just too tired at the moment to really glare at her, he decided on an indifferent answer. "Okay, I guess."

"I had the best pillow," Misaki said. Naruto felt his cheeks heat up and looked at the sky, trying to forget that statement and what it implied. Stupid hormones.

"I hit my head against the window a lot." Naruto glared at the innocently whistling Garrick, who was looking over his new coin.

"Do you need a kiss to make it better?" Misaki asked.

His cheeks darkened. "Why do you have to make it weird, Misaki?"

Misaki pouted. "It's not weird, it's a perfectly good question."

"A _very_ good question," Zack said. He grinned while Naruto glared at him. "What? It is."

"If you're all done flirting with each other, let's go see if my sister is here," Garrick said. The group glared at him for various reasons but followed nonetheless. They walked down the dirt trail to a small wooden building that had a sign at the end of the path: Crater Lake National Park Ranger Station. Above the doors were two others: Visitor Information and Book Store. Garrick walked up to the door and knocked on it.

The door opened and a woman with impish features similar to Garrick's walked out. Her hair was not curly, and it wasn't dark. It was actually rather straight and pulled back into a ponytail under a hat. She was dressed in brown and tan ranger clothing, with a badge pinned to her chest. The woman had the same blue eyes as Garrick, glancing at him as he held the coin up. Her eyes widened and she looked past him at the group, staring at their shirts.

"Hey Joan! I bring some friends of yours. Got any coffee? I've been driving for hours." Garrick walked past her into the ranger outpost like he owned the place.

"Peter..." Joan turned and stormed in after him. She turned back to the kids with a scowl on her face. "Well? Come in, then."

"That's not very nice manners to your guests, Joan."

"Shut it, Peter."

"Dad wouldn't be pleased."

"Since when have I ever pleased him?"

"Uh, excuse me?" Naruto cut in to the siblings' bickering. "We just need to cut through. We're on a, uh..."

"Church mission." Naruto and Misaki looked at Zack and he shrugged. "Technically, we are."

"Save the lies," Joan said, taking her hat off and hanging it on a rack. "I know you're from Camp Jupiter."

"How?" Naruto asked. "I thought the Mist covered our shirts?"

"Not for monsters. I wondered why someone had agreed to take us to the border without any questions!" Zack reached over his shoulder and grabbed his crossbow. Naruto clenched his fists and Misaki pulled her dagger out.

"Whoa! Hey! I'm just a cabbie!" Garrick held his hands up. "I swear it on my mother's grave!"

"Put them away," Joan said. She took a seat behind her desk and opened a drawer. She pulled out a flask and undid the cap. Joan took a drink from the flask. She replaced the cap and rolled the sleeve of her shirt up, revealing a familiar set of letters and above it was a caduceus. Three bars were under the letters SPQR.

"You're a Legionnaire!" Naruto gaped in surprise, lowering his fists. Misaki lowered her dagger and Zack put his crossbow away.

"If we're showing off tattoos, I guess I should show mine, too." Garrick chuckled and rolled his own sleeve up. The same markings were on his arm; only he had ten lines instead of three.

Naruto let it sink in before he glared at Garrick. "You knew we were on a quest?"

"I figured." Garrick rolled his sleeve back down and turned around to make some coffee. "When you're told to make a stop outside of the tunnel to camp, you pretty much prepare to drive a few legionnaires around. So what're your cohorts? I was a member of the Third, myself."

"Fifth," Naruto and Zack said proudly.

"Second," Misaki said, smiling pleasantly.

Garrick whistled. "Two members of the Fifth...wow...they let you go on quests after what Varus did?"

Naruto and Zack glared at him along with Joan.

"Shut up, Peter." The park ranger took another sip from her flask. "So what fool quest are you doing?"

Naruto shared a look with Zack and Misaki before he looked back at Joan. "We're looking for Scaevola's Dagger. We know the Legionnaire that had it went on the quest with Varus."

Joan scowled. "You might as well turn around and go home. No one is bringing that dagger back."

"How do you know?" Misaki asked.

"Because I was on that quest, too," Joan said.

"But according to the report, Varus said there were no survivors!" Zack clenched his fists tightly.

"We failed in our quest, which we volunteered for." Joan took another sip of her flask. She scowled. "Aut vincere aut mori."

"You didn't come back..." Naruto frowned. That was basically the same as being declared dead.

"Why would I want to?" Joan asked. Garrick went over to her side and put his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off and glared at him. "Don't! I'm over it."

"Yeah, obviously," Garrick said. He rolled his eyes and went to the coffee machine, opening the mini fridge tucked underneath it. "Would you guys like anything?"

"I'll take some black," Zack said. He plopped down into a chair and yawned while he rubbed at his eye patch.

"Just some milk if you have it," Misaki said. She wandered over to pictures on the wall and scrutinized them. Probably looking over the clothes they wore.

"Water," Naruto said. A bottle of water flew his way from where Garrick was and the light gleamed off of his bracer. Joan dropped her flask with a gasp of shock. The three from Camp Jupiter looked at her curiously, but she continued to stare at the bracers on Naruto's wrist.

"Y-You...You're a...a..." Joan looked like she couldn't fathom it.

Naruto watched her face carefully as he held his wrist up. "Yes. I'm the son of Neptune."

"Ha! I knew he wouldn't hold true to the pact! Alan so owes me fifty bucks," Garrick said. "Jupiter wouldn't keep it my ass! It was his idea!"

"Actually, funny story..." Zack told the two former legionnaires about Jason and they gaped. Zack laughed at their reactions.

"A son of Jupiter and a son of Neptune." Joan tossed her flask into the garbage. Garrick pestered Zack for more information; eager to know what gossip he could spread among the small community outside of New Rome.

"Naruto, come here." Misaki waved Naruto over. He joined her and she pointed at a picture. In the photograph was a girl that looked like a younger Joan; she had her arms around a boy with black hair and brown eyes while they sat in front of a lake. Both of them had Camp Jupiter shirts on. Joan had a sword on her hip whereas on the boy's belt was a sheathed dagger. "Look at the title. 'Summer 1981: Crater Lake'."

"...That's why she didn't go back," Naruto said. In the picture, Joan didn't look that much older than him, maybe a year or two tops.

"That's so tragic," Misaki said, covering her mouth as her eyes watered.

"Where is the dagger?" Naruto asked, interrupting Zack. He agreed with Misaki, but now he had a lead and he fully intended to follow it through. The two former legionnaires looked at him and he pressed on. "The Dagger of Scaevola, where is it?"

"...Even for you it's suicide," Joan said.

"Maybe..." Garrick came over with a glass of milk and a mug for Zack. The two took the offered drinks with gratitude and he turned to his sister. "He is the son of the sea god."

"It won't matter!" Joan slammed her hands on her desk and stood up. "I had to run away while Wally died stalling _it_!"

"Was that who the boy was?" Misaki asked while Naruto and Zack shared a concerned look.

Joan scowled at her, but Misaki kept a pleasant smile on her face while she drank her milk. "Yes...That was Wally Bronson. He was a legacy of Bellona."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Misaki said. She set her half-empty glass on the table and looked Joan in the eye. "Can you tell us how he died?"

Joan swallowed. "He was killed by the Cetus."

"... _The_ Cetus? The thing that laid waste to Aethiopia after Cassiopeia insulted Neptune?" Zack asked. His eye bulged out of his head.

Naruto looked at his friend with the question written on his face. Neptune sent a monster after a whole country because of one woman's insult?

"Yes," Joan said. Tears brimmed her eyes and she buried her hands in her face. "I saw him get eaten."

"Where is it?" Misaki asked.

"The Columbia River," Joan said. "Off the coast of Lois Island...We didn't even bury him a grave...I never got to say goodbye..."

"I think it's time you get on with your quest," Garrick said as Joan buried her face in her hands. He had a frown on his face and Naruto knew that there would be no arguing over it. They got up and thanked Garrick for the ride and the drinks. Naruto stopped at the door, turning back to look at the two.

"I, uh...I won't tell. You know, that you're...she's..."

"Thank you," Garrick said, his arm wrapped over Joan's shoulders in a hug.

Naruto left feeling that he might have overstayed his welcome. He stepped into the cold Oregon air and shivered lightly. Zack and Misaki looked at him and he sighed.

"So...now where do we go?" Naruto asked them.

"I snagged a map before we left and I found this brochure," Zack said, holding a green pamphlet out to Naruto.

Naruto took it from him and opened it up. He gave Zack a confused look. "Horseback tours?"

"Why not?" Zack shrugged. "You're the son of Neptune. God of the sea and horses, maybe you're a horse whisperer or something."

"Yeah, maybe...This would be so much easier if we could drive," Naruto said. He sighed and gave the map back to Zack. "You lead, we'll follow. I suck at reading maps."

"That's why you're not getting promoted anytime soon." Zack chuckled. Naruto grumbled to himself while Misaki patted his shoulder reassuringly. The eldest of the three opened the map and turned right. "This way."

* * *

A few hours passed since they left the ranger station and they had stopped to rest. The three legionnaires set up camp halfway around Crater Lake. Naruto was gathering firewood when he heard the first growl. He brushed it off and knocked another dead tree down, silently thanking his father for bestowing him with his gift of strength.

Neptune was a complicated subject for Naruto. He was one of the three brothers, alongside Jupiter Maximus (or the Transformer Wannabe as Naruto recently started to call him) and Pluto, so Naruto respected Neptune's strength and status as a god. That was concrete, even if it got him some flak in the cohort.

However, when it came to Neptune as a father, Naruto was conflicted in his feelings. Sure, Neptune was one of the Olympians, but he was a longtime enemy of Rome, dating back to the destruction of Troy. He sunk Roman ships more than any other and even one of his legacies had been rumored to cause an earthquake in San Francisco back in the early 1900s. That being said, Neptune was his _father_ , the male that provided the necessary key within his mother to make him a possibility. Naruto didn't even think to ask his mother how she had met Neptune; he was just elated to know who she was. Naruto wanted to know why she had been chosen, why he had been born with a huge burden, cursed to be hated. Naruto wanted to meet Neptune, to get some clear answers. He wanted to know if he was just an antithesis to Jason, if he was a spur of the moment accident or a result of something else.

"Focus," Naruto said. He looked back at the downed tree and bowed his head. "Thank you Faunus, for the supplied tree."

The minor gods were something that interested Naruto, and he respected them perhaps more than he did the Olympians, and thanked them whenever he could (or remembered to). All that hard work to keep the world in working order and only twelve were recognized? It was certainly unfair in Naruto's opinion, but on the other hand, that was how the military worked. That was how the wild worked. You fight or you die.

Look out.

Naruto frowned wondering who said that and turned around. He felt immense pain in his jaw and crumpled to the ground. Naruto rolled out of the way as a large brown elbow landed in the dirt where he once stood. Attached to the elbow was a furry body, like a bear's. Only this "bear" was walking upright like a human and was wearing Levis.

"Damn, missed. Don't want to cut you. You got all that juicy flesh." The bear-man growled. "Oreius!"

Naruto ducked under the charging pounce of another bear-man and he stumbled back, tripping over the tree he had moments ago knocked down. He landed with a grunt and scrambled quickly back to his feet, facing the two monsters with his fists up. The tridents on his wrists shone and the bracers unfolded into his two gauntlets of Imperial Gold. Naruto glared at them, all the way to their eyes that were seven feet from the ground.

"Shiny..." the bear-man that had spoken before said. The other, Oreius, stared along with his brother at the gauntlets.

"Yeah, shiny. Mind telling me who you guys are and why you guys attacked me?" Naruto asked with a glare.

"You're food. We're hungry."

"Glad we sorted this out," Naruto said. He fell to his back when Oreius leapt at him again. Naruto drove his feet into Oreius' stomach and tossed him back into the brush. He rolled out of the throw and hopped back to his feet with his fists up. "Can I get a name?"

"Agrius!" Agrius said with a swing of his massive paw-like fist. Naruto blocked it with a stumble.

"You're strong, but I'm stronger," Naruto said. He brought his other fist back and cracked Agrius across the face. The bear-man was sent to the ground hard. Naruto turned and caught Oreius' fists with his hands. They struggled for a moment but Naruto started to tighten his grip and twist Oreius' hands. Oreius grunted and slowly dropped to his knees.

"Let him go!" Agrius tackled Naruto from the side. The bear-man growled at him and kept the son of Neptune pinned to the ground. "Other people near. Smell them on you! Where?!"

"I'd rather die," Naruto said.

"Then die!" Agrius reared his head back and opened his mouth.

"Oreius, your brother stole your meal! Get it back!"

Agrius turned and snarled at the new voice. He yelped when his brother suddenly tackled him off of Naruto. Naruto scrambled to his feet while the two bears fought. A hand grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

"Nice timing," he said. "Thanks Misaki."

Misaki smiled at him. "Anytime cutie."

"How'd you know their names?" Naruto asked.

"Every child and legacy of Venus knows those two," Misaki said. She looked like she ate something sour, which was a look Naruto had only seen on her face _once_. He silently pitied the poor legionnaire that was _still_ doing all of her chores for her because he got yellow lemonade for her instead of pink lemonade. Misaki stopped when they were behind a large tree and looked back at where they left the two bear men. "Agrius and Oreius. They're from before Rome, very, very old monsters. Their mother, Polyphonte, insulted Venus by running off to join Diana's group of maidens. Venus made her fall in love with a bear."

"Harsh. You can't do that, right?" Naruto asked.

Misaki smiled at him. "I wouldn't make you fall in love with a bear, if that's what you're worried about."

That didn't answer his question at all, but Naruto decided not to focus on that and looked back to where the twins were. "So how were they beaten before?"

"Mercury was sent to punish them, but Mars stopped him because they were his legacies and they were turned into birds."

Naruto closed his eyes in frustration. "Great, so we've got to change them into birds."

"Not necessarily," Misaki said. "We just have to keep them separated."

"I can take one out if we do that," Naruto said. "But how are we going to keep them apart?"

"Like this," Misaki said. She stepped out from behind the tree and whistled. The twin sons of Polyphonte turned to the source of the whistle and she blew them a kiss. "Daughter of Venus meat ready and willing to be eaten boys! You just have to catch me first!"

With that, Misaki ran off into the woods. Agrius and Oreius untangled from each other and ran after her. Naruto clotheslined Agrius as he ran past. His blow knocked the older twin to the ground while Oreius continued his pursuit.

"You! You travel with her ilk! You must die," Agrius said as he got to his feet. He tried to tackle Naruto, but the shorter blond caught Agrius by his arms and reared his head back. The son of Neptune stumbled back along with Agrius, both of them rubbing their heads.

"Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea," Naruto said to himself. He tried to shake the dazed spots out of his eyes, which cost him as Agrius drove his knee into Naruto's stomach. Naruto doubled over and got hit with a following blow to the back of the head.

"Head hurts, hungry and furious," Agrius said. He turned Naruto over onto his back and grabbed him by the hair. "Not going to eat you anymore. Going to beat you to death and feed you to Oreius!"

Naruto spat in the bear's eye and brought his left fist up to crack Agrius in the jaw. Agrius stumbled back and rubbed at his eye, a growl escaped his mouth. Naruto took advantage of the distraction and swept the abomination onto his back with a low kick. Naruto grabbed the bear-like snout in his right hand and grabbed under Agrius' right arm with his left. He struggled for a second before he successfully lifted Agrius off the ground and launched him into the air.

Naruto then went to a relatively small tree, about three feet in diameter, and took hold of the trunk. He pulled until the roots gave out and ripped the tree from the ground. It was about twenty feet high. Agrius crashed down through branches and landed with a loud boom. Naruto hefted the tree over his shoulder and swung it like a bat just as Agrius started to rise.

Agrius was struck in the right side and was sent for a short fly, taking down a few more trees in the process. Naruto dropped the tree to the side and ran after the monster, intending to finish him off before he could get back to his senses. Naruto found Agrius as the bear-man rose from the ground, a tree on his back leg.

"Little annoying shit. Must be son of Hermes. Must be," Agrius said under his breath.

Naruto blinked in confusion. "Son of Hermes? You mean Mercury, right?"

Agrius scowled. "Fake gods...Imposters! Stole the lives of my family, the gods did! Beloved father Ares turned us to birds!"

"Uh-huh... 'Before Rome'...You guys are _graceus_! That explains the weird names," Naruto said.

Agrius spat blood to the side and glared at Naruto. "Kill you dead, boy. Feed you to Oreius."

"Yeah, I don't see that happening." Naruto cracked his knuckles. "Right now your brother is being led on a wild goose chase and-"

"Uh...Cutie? Might want to turn around..."

Naruto paled and slowly did just that. He groaned and palmed himself in the head once he did. Misaki was being held by her neck in Oreius' arm, with an annoyed look plastered on her face.

"You got caught?!"

"Well I can't run around forever!" Misaki crossed her arms and pouted. "I tripped, sorry for not having night vision. Besides, it seems the other one put mud in his ears. I can't talk him out of holding me."

"Good job, Oreius! Tonight we feast on Aphrodite's daughter!" Agrius grinned and got to his feet. "And the son of...Er...Apollo?"

"Hardly," Naruto said with a snort. That would make him related to Octavian. That was something Naruto could do without. He clenched his hands back into fists and tensed in preparation to move. "I'm the son of Neptune."

Agrius blinked and a moment of silence passed before his grin widened. "Son of Poseidon!? Lucky day! We feast on Aphrodite's flesh _and_ get back in Zeus' good graces!"

Naruto frowned in confusion. Why would his death put them in Jupiter's good graces? He banished the question from his mind and prepared to act.

"Heads up!"

Naruto, Misaki, Oreius and Agrius looked up. Somewhere in the woods, it sounded like someone was dragging a stick along a picket fence. Bolts lined with golden heads started to fly out of the trees at their feet. One hit Oreius in the arm and he dropped Misaki to the ground. Oreius whimpered and ran off into the woods.

"Idiot!" Agrius snarled and ran after him. "Kill you next time, son of Poseidon!"

Naruto growled and made to run after them but stopped when a final bolt landed in front of him. He turned and glared at Zack, who landed from where he was in the trees. The older Legionnaire holstered his crossbow onto his back with a small frown on his face. "We don't need to run after them. We've got a quest, remember?"

"So we just let them run off!?" Naruto asked.

Zack shook his head. "We can't afford to get lost. This area is to their advantage. We need to get to the stables."

Naruto glared at him for another moment before he sighed. "Yeah, you're right."

"I know I am," Zack said, smiling. He walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "And I'm glad you think so, too. Listening to advice is what makes you a better commander. There's more than one way to skin a bear."

"Maybe if we're lucky they'll run into Diana and her cheerleaders," Misaki said, dusting her pants off with a pout. "Damn bears got my clothes dirty."

"Woe is us," Naruto said dryly. He chuckled at the puffed cheeks Misaki gained and looked to Zack. "So, oh wise one, which way now?"

"That way," Zack said, pointing in the opposite direction that the twin monsters ran. "We're all awake now, we should make the best of it."

"Right, lead on," Naruto said.

* * *

 **AN: So the adventure continues. Tell me what you think!**

 **REVIEW!**


	6. VI

**Co-written by Engineer4Ever.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Percy Jackson and the Olympians**_ **.**

 **Son of the Earthshaker**

 **VI**

* * *

"It smells horrible here! How is that even possible?" Misaki asked as they walked through the stables near Crater Lake.

"Just plug your nose like I am," Zack said, his fingers firmly pinched around his nose. He looked at Naruto. "How are you not bothered by this? It's worse than the stink bombs Cameron of the Second Cohort uses in the war games."

"Who do you think deals with most of the latrine duty?" Naruto grumbled. Upside to being the son of the god of the sea, he has control over water. Would be neat, if his power wasn't mostly abused by his cohort to clean the latrines. That, and he was much better with controlling quakes, not something he's proud of, but something that's more useful, in his opinion. Plus, there wasn't a lot of water near the Fields of Mars. Wasn't like he could make a tidal wave to wipe out the opposition. That would be useful.

Misaki turned to him with her hand pinching her nose shut, giving him the best apologetic look she could muster. "You poor dear."

Naruto let a smile cross his face at the nasal voice that came out as opposed to her usual regal one. "It's not so bad. I can't really smell anything that bad anymore."

"Good for you," Zack said dryly. He pointed at the horse in the last pen. "You go talk to him and we'll wait outside."

"Good idea, and be careful. Keep an eye out for the birdbrains," Naruto said, getting a nod from both Zack and Misaki. The two vacated the stables quickly while he walked down to the stable. The horse neighed at him and snorted on his approach. Naruto looked it over with a bit of awe. The horse was massive, easily larger than the few pegasi that hung around camp. Its build was like a Clydesdale Naruto had seen on those weird adult drink commercials on television, but its coat was a striking gold, almost like his hair, and the mane was a platinum shade of yellow.

 _Oh joy. Another filthy brat that wants to feed me sugar cubes and stroke my muzzle._ The voice was that of an older man, one who was wise but weary. Naruto furrowed his brow at the judgment.

"Wow, you do know what they say about assumptions, right?" He asked.

The horse blinked and turned his head. _You...You can understand me?_

"Yeah..." Naruto scratched the back of his neck. The bracer glinted in the moonlight and the large stallion straightened up.

 _A son of Poseidon!_

Another Greek? Weird. "Neptune."

The horse seemed to ignore him as a light grew in his surprisingly dark eyes. _I knew one would come, I knew! I told Xanthus to hold out, but that stubborn colt refused to listen to reason! Well, look who's "too optimistic" now, Xanthus!_

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Naruto said with his hands up. "Who're you and who's Xanthus?"

The stallion looked slightly embarrassed and dipped his head down. _A thousand pardons, m'lord. It's been so long since I've been near the sea that I've forgotten its scent._ The horse ducked its head down in a bow. _I am Balius, son of Zephyrus and brother to Xanthus, the steed of Achilles._

"Achilles...You mean that dude with the foot problem?" Naruto smirked slightly in amusement. Sure, the guy was one of Greece's greatest heroes, but c'mon. He was beaten by an arrow to the foot?

Balius snorted and shuffled. _Yes, er, but he was still a hero and I'm proud to have been in his and his father's service for as long as I was. Enough of that, m'lord, it's been millennium since I've seen a demigod! Er, begging your pardon, m'lord, but I never got your name._

"Sorry, I'm Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto said. He brought his arm over his chest in a formal greeting. "Member of the Fifth Cohort, of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata."

 _Fulminata? A Roman?_ Balius asked before he went silent and shook his head. _It could be worse, I suppose. I could've never been found._

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked with a frown.

Balius' eyes widened. _I meant no offense, M'lord! But you must understand the Roman's view on Lord Poseidon-er, Neptune and vice versa._

Naruto grimaced. "Yeah, I know their view." He shook the depressing memories off and his eyes met Balius' once more. "Whatever, so think you can do me a favor?"

 _M'lord, if you can get me out of this blasted stable, I'll be at your beck and call whenever you need a ride. I'll follow you back to the Legion and breed off for a cavalry!_

Naruto scratched his chin. "We could use a few more stallions around...the Pegasi aren't as fertile as we'd like, but that's probably from Neptune."

 _M'lord is very clever,_ Balius noted with a nod. _A lack of respect to Lord Neptune would offend him. He is the father of all equine, our Lord, and as such can determine who does and who doesn't deserve stables full of Pegasi. Pray tell, M'lord, but why don't you have a steed already? Surely, even the Romans can see that a son of Neptune would do well with a mount._

"Stop calling me that," Naruto said. He did agree with Balius on the part about him having a horse or pegasi, and his cohort had even suggested it to the Praetors. The council had denied the request, though.

 _Calling you what, M'lord?_ Balius tilted his head.

"That! M'lord!" Naruto grimaced as he said it. "I'm just a legionnaire, not a high class citizen. Titles aren't really my thing."

Balius neighed as though he were insulted. _But-but you are a son of Lord Neptune, M'lord! I cannot, in good knowledge, speak of you so-so lowly!_

"...Misaki's going to love you..." Naruto mumbled. He looked at a saddle and scratched his head. "Well, think you could carry three of us?"

Balius ducked his head. _Apologies, M'lord, but while I may be large, three may be against my limit._ Balius perked up and neighed. _But! If I could get out of this stable, I could find Xanthus and he could help us. Especially if he knew he'd be helping you, M'lord._

"Would you mind if I came with you?" Naruto asked warily. He didn't think that Balius would leave him hanging, but there was a slim possibility that the horse would run free. Which was understandable, being cooped up in a small stable had to suck.

There was a reason the sea was open and spacious.

Balius perked up and stamped his hooves excitedly. _You wish to accompany me? M'lord, I'm-I'd be honored!_

Naruto let his shoulders slump and went to grab a saddle from the rack. "Balius, please, stop calling me that."

 _I cannot, M'lord. Wait, not that saddle! There was a rather rude young man that rode with that saddle. I can't allow you to use that one._ Balius snorted. _It's beneath you._

Naruto rolled his eyes and went to grab another saddle.

 _Not that one either, M'lord. A pregnant woman's water broke on that one._

"...Okay, ew." Naruto moved down the line to another worn and torn saddle.

 _M'lord, as a son of Neptune, you should not be forced to use a lowly saddle such as that!_

"Oh for the love of Caesar, what saddle should I use then, Balius?" Naruto rounded on the horse with a look of annoyance on his face. Balius scanned the rack for several minutes before he snorted.

 _None of these are good enough for you, M'lord._

"Of course not." Naruto rubbed his temples with his hands. That so figured. Again, there were a lot of things he loved about being the son of Neptune, but at the moment, talking to horses was not one of them.

 _M'lord, if I could make a suggestion?_ Balius looked at him with respect and his head low. _I know it's not my place, but might I suggest you ride without a saddle? Just until we can find Xanthus and a chariot? When we return to your camp, the finest of leathers could be used to make your saddle!_

Naruto rolled his eyes. The day he got a regal saddle from any of Vulcan's children or legacies would be the day that he got promoted to Centurion. It wasn't going to happen anytime soon. But, he didn't want to risk angering the horse, so Naruto just nodded. "Alright, sure."

Balius' eyes gleamed excitedly and he ducked his head down. _Thank you, M'lord._

"Don't mention it, Balius," Naruto said as he walked back to the pen. "So, how exactly are you trapped here?"

Balius turned away, slightly ashamed. _The rafters are too low for me to jump the gate, and before we were left here, Lord Neptune had ordered us into hiding from the Romans, so we could not show excessive strength or power. That was several centuries ago, around the time that silly mortal war was going on. The Courteous War? The Chivalry War? ...Blasted memory. Apologies for the language, M'lord. This will nag at me until I get it right._

"Hey, don't worry about it," Naruto said. He lifted the lock on the pen that was just out of Balius' reach. The door swung open and Balius exited the pen with a grateful sigh. "So if you were in 'hiding', how did Xanthus escape?"

Balius snorted as Naruto tried to get a good grip to mount the horse without hurting him. _The lucky fool's pen was left open one night. He just ran. Didn't even bother to say goodbye or offer to let me out! Ungrateful...And after all that time I took returning him to a somewhat respectable intellect, too!_

"Respectable what?" Naruto asked with a frown, his hand on the top of Balius' shoulder to act as a grip. Balius turned his head and bit onto the back of Naruto's shirt. With a mighty lift, the son of Neptune found himself moved to Balius' back. "Whoa, warn someone next time, will you?"

 _Sorry, M'lord._ Balius apologized. He trotted to the door while Naruto adjusted himself on his back. _But I had to restore Xanthus' mind. Before Achilles' demise, Xanthus was granted a boon by Juno, to speak to unworthy mortals. This goes against Divine Law, and Xanthus spoke to Achilles. Lord Neptune punished him by striking him dumb. Thankfully, I discovered the punishment wasn't meant to be permanent._

"Oh, got'cha." Naruto nodded. He grabbed a portion of Balius' mane to steady himself and blinked in surprise. It was soft, softer than anything he'd ever felt before. He'd heard that horse manes were coarse like hay, but this felt more like fur than hair.

 _Now, hold tightly, M'lord. I can smell Xanthus nearby. Fool must've gotten lost several times in these woods._ Balius warned before he galloped. Naruto felt himself fly back from the force, but tightening his grip reassured him that he wouldn't be thrown off the divine horse. He heard Misaki and Zack call out to him, but didn't dare risk looking back. Naruto was sure if he did, his head would snap off.

Balius' hooves sounded like Jupiter's thunder as they struck the ground. The divine horse was also quick to warn Naruto to duck, lest he got injured by a branch or something.

"So, how far do you think he is?" Naruto asked, two minutes and at least twenty miles since they left the stables.

 _Just over this hill, M'lord!_ Balius returned as they came across a rather large hill. They passed over the hill and Balius slowed to a stop. Naruto lurched forward and grunted as his chest slammed into Balius' neck.

"Ow. Why'd you stop?" Naruto asked as he sat up and rubbed his chest.

 _Xanthus has been captured._ Balius' words made Naruto look ahead to see a dark chestnut coated stallion with a splash of white across its back. The horse's mane was the stark opposite of Balius', a dark shade that matched the night sky. The captured horse was stuck in a cage to the side of a small camp where three shirtless men sat.

Only these men lacked heads.

"Blemmyae." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the sight of the man-eating monsters. They weren't the most dangerous monsters to encounter, but they were still dangerous. Even if they were a head shorter than most men, literally.

 _I can hear them from here, M'lord. They plan to eat Xanthus! How barbaric!_ Balius snorted and stomped his hoof. _Over my hung hide!_

"Wait, hold on," Naruto said, keeping the stallion from charging in with a small tug. He scanned the camp for any signs of others or traps. He scowled when he saw a Blemmyae pick up something originally out of sight. "They have guns? Seriously? Pluto's pauldrons."

 _M'lord, we must do something,_ Balius implored as he shifted uneasily on the hill.

"I know, I know, give me a second to think." Naruto furrowed his brows together as he watched the Blemmyae lean back to laugh. Without heads, they couldn't easily turn to find something, so he and Balius could try to sneak in and rescue Xanthus. However, the three monsters were seated rather strategically, not one on a single log, nor blocking another's view.

How could something without a brain be so smart?

Balius let out a soft whinny. _M'lord! Xanthus' has spotted me!_

"Okay, good! That's something, right?" Naruto asked as he watched Xanthus start to move around.

 _Not good. He's not that smart, M'lord. He'll reveal us to them if we don't do something soon,_ Balius snorted worriedly.

"Damn." Naruto grimaced. He released his hold on Balius' mane and swung his leg over to the side in preparation to dismount. "Alright, here's the plan. I'm going to go down there and get Xanthus. You stay here and keep an eye out."

 _What? M'lord you can't be serious!_ Balius gave him a disapproving look.

"You're going to have to trust me." Naruto dropped as quietly as he could from the large stallion and crouched down low. The son of Neptune carefully made his way down the hill, trying not to draw attention to himself. Fortuna was on his side, as he made it to the edge of the Blemmyae's camp without issue. Naruto kept low, dropping to military crawl on his stomach just a bit further into the camp. This allowed him to hear what they were saying.

"...hungry, Lash. When are we gonna eat the pony?" one Blemmyae asked.

Another, Lash, turned his torso half-way to look at Xanthus. "Soon, Strill. We gotta let him starve a bit more. Tender that way."

"Hopefully better than those people we had the other day," the last Blemmyae, whose back was to Naruto, said. He pulled out a rag from his pocket and coughed into it. The rag was then tossed over his shoulder and landed in front of the blond.

It was a torn and bloody child's T-shirt, a girl's, with a white unicorn on the front.

Naruto closed his eyes and counted down from ten before he resumed crawling. He had to get just a bit closer to Xanthus. As he crawled along the ground, his eyes locked with Xanthus, who looked ready to release a loud joyful neigh. Naruto lifted a finger to his lips and held it there for a good long while until he was sure that the stallion wouldn't make a sound.

"C'mon, I'm so hungry, Lash! Just a leg?" Strill asked, making Naruto pause as he heard a log shift.

"No, Strill! We gotta wait a couple more days. Then the horse will be dead on its feet and none of the meat will be ruined," Lash said. He growled at the whimpering Strill. "Unlike last time..."

"I was so hungry!"

"Lash is right, shut up Strill. I'm still spitting out shotgun pellets."

Naruto was now torn between being grateful for the Blemmyae's culinary tastes and furious with himself for letting these monsters live for so long. Another break to calm himself and Naruto looked up at Xanthus when he whinnied.

"Oh, shut up!" the nameless Blemmyae shouted. He apparently missed Naruto or didn't bother to turn, because he resumed complaining to Lash about the shotgun pellets in his last meal.

Naruto _really_ had to give a heap of thanks to Fortuna when he got back to Camp Jupiter. And make sure Zack gets a big commendation from Edward to the Praetors.

Another glance at the distance between himself and Xanthus' cage made Naruto decide he was close enough. The son of Neptune put his hands on the ground and closed his eyes to concentrate. The ground was a lot more firm here, but sure enough Naruto felt the tingle in his head. His arms shook lightly and then the ground trembled.

Xanthus and Balius neighed loudly in protest while the three Blemmyae were tossed to the shaking ground. Naruto furrowed his brow and felt sweat bead up on his forehead. He needed to make the quake larger and last longer.

"Earthquake!" one of the Blemmyae cried out. "The Sea God is angry!"

"No he's not! It's a Demigod!"

Naruto felt the eyes of the monsters land on him and decided that the time for stealth had (thankfully) left. Naruto pushed himself up from the trembling ground and ran to the cage that held a disheveled stallion.

"Xanthus, when I get this open, you run!" Naruto ordered firmly. Xanthus nodded, understanding, and watched as the blond took hold of the iron cage's front. As the tremor died down, Naruto heard the iron groan in protest of his actions. When it was over, Naruto felt portions of the cage give way.

By the time the Blemmyae had readied their guns, Naruto had ripped off the side of the cage and moved so that Xanthus could flee.

"No! My dinner!" Strill cried out in anguish.

"We'll just have Demigod tonight, boys," Lash said as he lifted the rifle up to his left eye. Before he could fire, Naruto turned and tossed the cage at him, making him cry out before he was trapped beneath the metal.

"You guys should've gotten takeout," Naruto said as he slammed his fists together and made his gauntlets appear. Strill and the other Blemmyae lifted their guns and fired at him.

Naruto dropped to his knee and slammed his left fist into the dirt, causing another, larger and more violent tremor. The unnamed Blemmyae let out a yell as he fell to the ground, but Strill managed to keep his feet.

"I'm gonna pump you full of lead, grind you up, and make soup out of you!" Strill declared as he primed his shotgun. A loud whinny made him turn towards a charging stallion that ran him down, knocking the gun from his hand in the process.

The son of Neptune rose from the ground and rushed at the Blemmyae he had dropped. A hard kick knocked the rifle from his hand. He twisted his torso to face Naruto, dark eyes narrowed in hate and a scowl over his stomach.

Infuriated sea green eyes matched the distaste the monster showed and a gauntlet covered fist was quickly plunged through the gap in the monster's eyes. Naruto's hand shot through the back of the Blemmyae, a strange pink organ that looked like a cross between a heart and a brain was in his grasp. Naruto pulled his arm out and crushed the abomination in his hand, black liquid spraying over his face and the Blemmyae's body.

"Tong!" The trapped Lash cried out. "Damn you, boy! I'll kill you! I'll _eat_ you!"

 _You will NOT harm my lord!_ An angry neigh made the monster look up as a heavy golden horseshoe came crashing down onto the headless man's face. Balius snorted angrily as Lash and Tong turned to dust, leaving behind small leather pendants with faces engraved on them.

"Lash! Tong!" Strill wailed as he got to his feet. A chestnut coated stallion bucked back and kicked him hard, making him fly towards Naruto.

"Die!" Naruto yelled as he drove his right fist into Strill's face. The force of his punch made the top half of the Blemmyae's chest rip off of the rest of the body. As Naruto wiped the black gunk off of his face, he watched the Blemmyae turn to dust, another pendant dropped with another face carved into the leather.

Naruto looked up as Xanthus came over to him and inspected the blond closely. Naruto arched a brow and was caught completely off guard as the stallion suddenly dragged its tongue up the side of his face. He shuddered at the feeling, he didn't even know horses could do that!

 _Thank you._ Xanthus' voice sounded younger than Balius', but it was deeper. His eyes were also a bit duller than his brother's, but still stood out compared to a regular horse's.

Naruto dragged his arm over his face with a grimace. "Don't mention it."

 _Xanthus, that's no way to speak to our Lord's son._ Balius chided his brother. Xanthus turned to him with a disinterested glance and then snorted. Balius' head shot back and he let out an affronted whinny. _Who are you calling stuffy? I'm acting properly, you simple-minded foal! He's the son of Neptune!_

Balius turned to Naruto with an apologetic look in his eyes. _Forgive Xanthus' manners, M'lord. I'll try to get him to speak to you with the proper respect you deserve!_

Xanthus snorted again and dipped his head down to pick up one of the pendants the Blemmyae had left behind. The stallion offered it to Naruto, who took it carefully from the horse's mouth. Naruto looked the pendant over before he frowned. What sort of reward is a leather pendant with a face on it?

 _Hm, quite hideous aren't they? No magic either. Perhaps they are meant to be offerings, M'lord._ Balius suggested as he picked up the other two pendants. Naruto nodded silently in agreement before he pocketed the three pendants. He could worry about them later.

First things first, though. "So...Xanthus, how do you feel about helping me on a quest?"

"He's gorgeous!" Misaki cried as she wrapped her arms around Balius' neck and rubbed her cheek against his muzzle. Naruto returned, this time on Xanthus' back much to Balius' protest, to his friends outside of the stables rather quickly. Xanthus might be slower than Balius mentally, but the two were tied when it came to speed. However, once they came to a stop and the two demigods realized they weren't under attack, the daughter of Venus took one glance at Balius and began to smother him with affection. "Who's a pretty pony? You are, yes you are!"

Balius' eye shifted over to Xanthus, whose tail swished in what appeared to be amusement, and narrowed. _Silence, you buffoon!_ Balius looked pleadingly at the son of Neptune. _M'lord, please tell her to stop rubbing against my face. It's unsettling._

"Misaki, let go of Balius." Naruto sighed as he dismounted Xanthus. He shook his head as she whined at him. "Please?"

"Only because you asked so nicely," Misaki said with a pout as she released the stallion's neck. Balius shook his head and glared at Xanthus, who nickered once more.

 _I am NOT a softy! How dare you accuse me of such a thing! You were there when I trampled the Trojans beneath my hooves! Er, apologies, M'lord._ Balius ducked his head down towards Naruto.

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said as he rubbed Balius' muzzle. He looked at Zack, who just walked out of the stables with a saddle slung over his shoulder and another in his hand. Xanthus, seeing the saddles, reared backed and neighed in protest, freezing the son of Fortuna in his place.

Naruto held his hands up to the large stallion. "Whoa, easy, Xanthus! Easy!"

 _Xanthus, control yourself! We are in the presence of Lord Neptune's son!_ Balius neighed at his brother. Xanthus settled back on the ground, his dull dark eyes locked warily on Zack.

"...So, I take it he doesn't want a saddle on his back?" Zack asked after a moment.

Naruto snorted as he gently brushed his hand down Xanthus' muzzle to soothe him. "Yeah, something like that."

 _Nor will I! Both of these saddles are highly unsuitable for a son of Lord Neptune, not to mention extremely uncomfortable._ Balius huffed. _M'lord, Xanthus and I are much more accustomed to chariots._

"Well have you seen one anywhere?" Naruto asked.

"Seen what?" Misaki asked, giving Naruto a small pout. Clearly she was still a bit upset at not being able to pet Balius.

"A chariot," Naruto said. The two Romans looked at him confused. Naruto shrugged as he gave Xanthus a light pat on the shoulder and gave Balius, who stood taller, a small smile. "These guys are Achilles' chariot pulling horses, the golden stallion is Balius." Balius took a step back to bow, which made Misaki giggle and clap in approval. Naruto rubbed Xanthus' shoulder. "And this excitable lug is Xanthus."

"Wow, two divine horses that obey Neptune, what are the odds of that?" Zack asked with a chuckle. He dropped the saddles in his hands to the ground and rubbed his chin. "We could go back to the Ranger Station and ask if they have a chariot."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably. "We didn't exactly leave with a good impression on them, even if they were Legionnaires."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Joan didn't want anything to do with the Legion," Misaki said with a frown.

Zack scratched the side of his head. "Well...then maybe we don't ask."

* * *

"I can't believe we stole this piece of crap! There was a nicer one right next to it!" Zack groaned as Naruto steered the chariot away from the ranger station. He looked down at the rickety wheel that was latched onto the side next to him. One good bump looked like it could knock the whole axel off.

"I'm with Zachary on this one, Naruto," Misaki said with a grunt as she hung onto Naruto's arm. She was trying not to get hooked by the nail that stuck out from the edge of the chariot. It was old and the paint was faded. The bronze on it looked like it was ready to give out at any time.

"By the time you saw the other one, I had already hooked Xanthus up." Naruto rolled his eyes at their whining. And they weren't the only ones doing that.

 _Oh, I've shamed Lord Neptune! Shamed him!_ Balius wailed as he galloped next to his brother. Naruto groaned and Xanthus snorted as the golden stallion continued to moan. _Not only making his son steal from fellow Romans, but also use a chariot below his worth?! I should be punished severely!_

 _Eyup._ Xanthus agreed with mirth in his voice.

Balius sent a glare to his brother, looking back ahead at the road when Naruto pulled on his reign slightly. _Oh, you shut up. This is mostly your fault! Being so fussy when Zachary wanted to hitch a ride! You should be grateful that M'lord was so generous to give you the chance!_

"Balius, focus on the road." Naruto sighed. Xanthus may not be the brightest of divine equine, but he sure knew how to rile up his brother. Naruto looked over at Zack. "You've got the map, lead the way Zack."

Zack looked up at the sky. "Fortuna, if you can hear me, please don't let this wreck in the making fall apart on us." He pulled the map out of his back pocket and looked at it. "We need to take a left in a mile if we want to get to Columbia River."

"Is there a bridge we can take to Lois Island?" Naruto asked.

Zack groaned as he looked at the map. "No." They all let out grunts as the chariot hit a pit. "Di immortales! Watch where you're driving, Naruto!"

"I am, you focus on giving directions!" Naruto returned with a glare. He turned to the two stallions in front of him. "Guys, can you pick up the pace a little bit?"

Xanthus leaned forward slightly, forcing Balius to do the same. _Eyup._

 _Yes, M'lord! Many apologies for the bump, M'lord! Xanthus, watch the road! If the chariot falls apart on Lord Naruto then I will blame you for it!_ Balius barked at his brother. He whinnied when Xanthus flicked his tail to slap his flank. _You uncouth, intolerable...buffoon! That was highly uncalled for!_

 _Funny._ Xanthus retorted simply, making Naruto chuckle. He tightened his grip on the reigns and pulled back on Balius to keep him from taking his eyes off the road. The odd curses that escaped Balius' mouth made Naruto remember that the horses were originally Greek. He was a bit disappointed that he couldn't understand everything the twin stallions could say.

Xanthus suddenly smacked Balius' flank again with his tail. _Children._

 _Yes...Yes, you're right, Xanthus. I apologize for my words, M'lord. I'm nothing like Mars' stallions._ Balius sounded ashamed of himself.

"It's okay, Balius. Not like I understood it anyway," Naruto mumbled in a bit of disappointment. He shook himself out of it and cracked the reigns. "Come on, guys! Show me why Neptune gave you to Achilles!"

He had a dagger to find.

* * *

 **AN: Man... That was hard to bust out. Seriously, it felt like this took me MONTHS to write. Now, you all know what I want from you next.**

 **REVIEW!**


	7. VII

**Co-written by Engineer4Ever.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Percy Jackson and the Olympians**_ **.**

 **Son of the Earthshaker**

 **VII**

* * *

The road to the coast of the Columbia River was not generous to the chariot. Naruto paid it no heed, but the constant swears from Zack started to grate on his nerves. The way Misaki pressed herself against him throughout the trip didn't help either. It made some... _weird_ feelings appear and frankly, had Naruto not been very distracted by the task at hand, he would've been asking Zack about them.

After, of course, he made the son of Fortuna shut up.

 _There it is, M'lord!_ Balius' voice snapped Naruto out his thoughts. The two stallions started to slow as their hoofs left dirt and touched down onto the sand. The air was cold, but the sounds of the crashing waves were oddly soothing.

"Finally!" Zack leapt from the chariot and fell to the ground on his knees. He lifted his arms up and crowed to the sky. "Sweet relief! Oh, Fortuna, thank you! Thank you, kind gods!"

 _Drama queen._ Xanthus snorted as he tested the sand with his hoof. _Troy._

 _Yes, Xanthus. Much like the beaches of Troy,_ Balius nodded to his brother. He looked around. _Far less...debauchery and war going on, though._

Naruto let the reigns fall and Misaki continued to hold onto his arm after they got off of the chariot. Naruto gave her a bewildered look. "Uh, Misaki? You can let go of my arm now."

"Must I?" Misaki asked with a small frown.

"...Yeah, it's starting to feel really weird." Naruto partially admitted. His arm was feeling numb around where Misaki was hugging it, and that weird tingling had started to come back. Misaki almost reluctantly let go of his arm and took a step or two away.

Content, Naruto turned and looked at Zack. "Hey, knock it off. Where's Lois Island?"

Zack huffed and got to his feet. He dusted the sand off of his jeans. "Yeah, sure. How are you not rattled by the chariot of damnation?"

 _How rude!_ Balius neighed in offense. _It may not have been the proper form of transport for M'lord, but we traveled smoothly! That, and M'lord has the same skill Patroclus did!_

 _Natural._ Xanthus nodded in agreement.

"Thanks guys," Naruto said with a smile. He turned to Zack. "So where is it?"

"There." Zack pointed to the left, across the moving water to the fog covered land in the distance. The beaches were barely visible, and the trees that adorned the land mass were just as difficult to make out. Naruto looked back at Zack, who was looking at his map. "Maybe five, ten miles to the island?"

"How are we supposed to get there?" Misaki asked. She walked closer to the edge of the beach and peered out with her hand covering her eyes from the slowly rising sun. "There's no natural land bridge and if we did need to find a boat, it would set us back a few hours."

"Not to mention that'd mean we'd have to ride that _thing_ again." Zack glared at the chariot.

Misaki shivered. "Yeah, that's not happening."

They looked to Naruto, who looked between them. Misaki gave him a sweet smile that was slowly growing while Zack smirked. "What?"

"Well, it is a large body of water and you're a son of Neptune." Zack chuckled.

Naruto looked at him for a moment before it clicked. "What, you want me to swim? I've never swam that far! And, I'm-I'm an Earthshaker! I'm not good with the whole water thing!"

Misaki walked over to him oddly, her hips swished from one side to the other. The advance had Naruto on the retreat until he nearly fell over, but by then Misaki had closed a significant amount of distance between them. She put a finger on his chest and gave him a sweet smile, the stars in her eyes sparkled oddly. Her finger began to make circles slowly.

"Naruto..." Her smile became far too sweet. Naruto felt a sudden rush of fear go through him, like when he'd stepped on an active land mine in a war game when he was seven. Misaki's hand gripped the front of his shirt and she pulled him closer. "Either you start swimming, or we see how well you do at _digging_ your way under the water."

"...Right, yeah, swimming. I'm gonna go swimming. Yeah, sounds like a good idea." Naruto nodded frantically, which made Misaki's smile become a normal form of sweet. Misaki released his shirt and patted him with both hands on the shoulders.

"Good boy. Now, take this off..." Misaki started to tug at his Camp Jupiter shirt.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

Misaki gave him a look. "So you don't get hypothermia by wearing all those clothes."

"But I can will myself dry." Naruto frowned in confusion. That was a well known power of his.

Zack chuckled. "He's got a point, Misaki."

Misaki's cheeks puffed up as she pouted. "You're not helping, Zachary."

"You're holding him back, _Princess_ ," Zack said with a knowing look. His eye looked over at Naruto. "Go on, water boy. Get started on swimming."

Misaki continued to pout as Naruto slipped away from her and quickly trudged over to the edge of the water.

He waded into the Columbia River, willing it from not dowsing him, until he was waist deep in it. Then, Naruto dove, propelling himself through the water faster than he had ever moved on land. He couldn't feel it, but at the same time he knew the water was cold. Instinctually, most likely. On the bright side, that weird feeling Misaki had made start to churn around in his gut had finally went away as he imagined how cold it was.

Many fish had come near him, brushing alongside him with ease. Naruto was pleasantly surprised when he realized that fish brains were too small for coherent thought. Animals of instinct, it seemed.

That train of thought made Naruto remember that somewhere there was a monster under these waters. A monster that had killed a Roman. It made him pause and suspend himself in the ocean, looking around for any sight of the Cetus. That made another thought come to the forethought of Naruto's mind: what exactly did the Cetus look like?

Naruto shook his head. He didn't have time to worry about it. He didn't even _need_ to worry about the Cetus. All he needed to do was get Scaevola's Dagger and go back to Camp Jupiter. The whiskered son of Neptune went back to swimming, his goal firmly in his mind.

The bottom of the river started to rise closer and Naruto swam up. He broke the surface easily and took in a soft breath of the fresh air that surrounded him. Naruto noted that the beach was nice and clean, and the fog that surrounded the beach added to the ambiance. There was a faint yell and Naruto turned around to see who he assumed to be Misaki waving her arms wildly. Naruto lifted one arm to wave back and then walked up onto the beach, completely dry.

"If I were a dagger, where would I be?" Naruto asked himself. With no real leads, Naruto resigned himself to wander along the beach. The waves crashed again nearby and the son of Neptune let out a small groan as his hands slipped into his pockets. "This is going to take forever."

* * *

"It's been hours," Misaki said with a small pout as she sat on the beach, her shoes and socks set in the _abomination_ that was called a chariot while the waves crashed over her feet. She crossed her arms over her knees and rested her chin on them. "And I didn't get to see him wet."

"How old are you again?" Zack asked as he looked up from cleaning his crossbow.

"Old enough." Misaki smiled lightly. She suddenly giggled. "Besides, Venus has been sending me signs, confirming some answers to a few questions I have."

"Signs? ...I don't think I want to know," Zack said as he looked back at his crossbow. Xanthus whinnied and he glanced over at the two stallions, who he had long since released from the chariot. The chestnut colored stallion did _not_ like him, and frankly, the feeling was mutual.

Misaki played with a lock of her hair, her golden starry eyes staring off into the distance. "Do you think it's a Neptune thing?"

Zack dropped his crossbow slightly and looked up dryly. "Seriously? Do I want to know what you're talking about?"

"The obliviousness," Misaki said with a roll of her eyes. "Mind in the gutter much?"

"I'm seventeen. I'm supposed to be thinking about these things." Zack retorted swiftly. "You're, what? Twelve?"

"Twelve and eight months, actually," Misaki said haughtily. Zack rolled his eye and she turned to look at him. "But seriously, do you think it's from Neptune?"

"...You're going to ask me that while we're sitting on a beach next to two divine horses?" Zack arched a brow, his lone eye asking her silently if she was sane.

Misaki nodded nonchalantly. "Yes."

"Just checking." Zack sighed. "Honestly? No. It's just him." He chuckled and went back to cleaning his crossbow. "You've got your work cut out for you. Especially if you want to monopolize him. Word's been spreading around the older legionnaires, some other girls are starting to notice Naruto, you know, since he's been training twenty-four seven after the thing with the quake."

Misaki sighed irritably and looked back out to the water. "I was afraid you'd say that."

She pursed her lips together and frowned at the thought of some of the other girls trying to sink their claws into Naruto. That just wouldn't do, she had seen him first. She'd made her claim known, but apparently not as well as she'd thought. A calculative gleam appeared in her eye and a wry smile spread across her face. She had a few ideas on how to deal with this revelation.

Those thoughts left her as Naruto walked up the beach a ways down, but to her disappoint he was completely dry. Misaki pouted slightly and got to her feet as he walked back over to them. He gave them one of his large carefree grins that stretched up to his sea green eyes, making them twinkle beautifully and reached behind him.

"So guess what I found stuck in a stone not too far from the beach?" Naruto asked as he brought his arm forward. In his grasp was a pugio, a dagger, with a highly decorated sheath. Rubies, diamonds and gold decorated the black leather. It was about ten inches long, perhaps one and a quarter or one and a half inches wide. Naruto carefully unsheathed the pugio, revealing a bronze dagger with Latin inscribed on the hilt.

" _For the loyalty and bravery displayed in the face of death, I bequeath this dagger to Gaius Marcus Scaevola,_ " Zack read softly, translating as he did. He held his hand out. "May I?"

"Here," Naruto said as he handed the pugio over gently. As Zack inspected the dagger, Naruto shifted uncomfortably. "...I found the, um, last owner."

Misaki put a hand on his arm in support. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah...I buried him and put some gold down for the passage. Asked Pluto to forgive him for the late...arrival." Naruto swallowed. "The ground rumbled after I took the dagger, so I think he...heard me."

Zack looked up. "The ground rumbled after you picked the dagger up?"

"Yeah...Can, we go now?"

Zack sheathed the dagger and handed it back to Naruto. As Naruto bound the dagger to his belt, urgency reflected in Zack's eye and he took a calm breath. "Yes. Leaving now would be for the best."

The ground rumbled again and about a mile off the coast, the water began to bubble. The three legionnaires turned and took notice of a large mass of dark scales that started to break the surface.

"I have a bad feeling about that." Zack swallowed.

Misaki shook her head. "That doesn't look like a whale."

"...We need to hook Balius and Xanthus back up. Now," Naruto said. Zack and Misaki nodded in agreement before the three of them ran over to the divine stallions.

* * *

 _M'lord! Did you accomplish your mission?_ Balius asked with a smile in his eyes.

Naruto grabbed the harness of the chariot and tossed it over Balius' back. "Yeah, we got Scaevola's dagger, but we need to go."

 _Are you all right, M'lord?_

"Balius, look over there and tell me what you see!" Naruto said, pointing at the dark scales slowly getting closer.

Balius followed his finger and whinnied. _My word! Yes, post haste we shall leave! Xanthus, stop fussing with Sir Zachary and allow him to hook you up! Lord Naruto is in danger!_

"Oh, Jupiter's beard, don't call me 'lord'!" Naruto groaned as he tightened the harness around Balius. He looked at the still slightly fussing Xanthus and frowned at him. "Xanthus! Behave!"

The horse snorted in distaste as Zack put the harness on him. Zack grimaced in return. "You know, this isn't exactly my choice of arrangement either."

"Oh, boys! Boys!" Misaki called as she ran back from putting her shoes and socks back on. "It's getting closer!"

Xanthus looked beyond the girl and at the mass of scales in the distance. He reared back and whinnied in fear, making Zack back away.

"I didn't do anything!" he said.

 _CETUS!_ Naruto winced at the volume Xanthus yelled at. He nodded at Zack to finish up Balius while he calmed the younger stallion. He snorted and shifted uneasily in the sand, making it difficult for Naruto to put the harness on.

"Easy, easy buddy. Just let me get this on so we can go," Naruto softly.

"Um, Naruto? It's, it's almost on the beach!" Misaki cried in worry.

"I know!"

Zack suddenly ran away from the golden stallion and pulled his crossbow from his back. He looked over his shoulder as he primed a bolt tipped with Imperial Gold. "Get them hooked up, I'll try to buy us some time!"

"Don't do anything stupid!" Naruto shouted back as he tightened the harness around Xanthus. "Misaki, fix Balius' harness. It's too loose."

"Um, yeah...how do I do that?" Misaki asked sheepishly.

Naruto looked at her over Xanthus' back with disbelief on his face. "How? It's required by _all_ cohorts to learn how to hook up a chariot for the annual races!"

Misaki giggled weakly. "About that...I _might've_...skipped...out?"

"Are you serious?" Naruto asked flatly.

"The stables were smelly!"

 _...Frankly, M'lord, you can't blame a child of Venus for wanting to be clean. Why, I remember Julius absolutely refusing to go anywhere near the stables, preferring to be on polishing duty as punishment._ Balius defended the girl.

"Balius, do you want us to die?"

 _W-what? No! Never, M'lord!_

"Then shut up!"

Balius hung his head slightly. _Sorry, M'lord._

Naruto shook his head and finished adjusting Xanthus' harness. He went over to Balius, giving Misaki a small frown that made her cringe, and then fixed Balius' harness. At the sound of a loud roar and an explosion of water being parted. Naruto turned around to call Zack back. He looked just in time to see a massive four-fingered, clawed and scaled hand slam down near the son of Fortuna.

Naruto followed the arm up, up, and up to the top of the scaled head that was easily seventy feet off the ground. It looked like a horribly evil monkey, with fins on either side of its head. The eyes were white, without pupils, and its mouth was contorted in a snarl that revealed layers of sharp yellow teeth. Four massive, scaled arms sprouted from its torso and a powerful build led down to a large serpent-like body that disappeared into the water. The underside of its arms and clawed hands were suckled, like an octopus' tentacles.

It was truly a terrifying creature.

"GO!" Zack cried out as he loaded another bolt and took a shot that made the Cetus bellow. He dove away from another fist that would easily crush him. He primed another bolt and fired, striking the Cetus in the cheek. "RUN! GO! I'LL CATCH UP!"

 _We should listen to him, M'lord._ Balius flinched as two hard sea green eyes turned to him. The rage that swirled in those eyes made the immortal stallion shudder. This was certainly a son of the sea god.

"We all go home or _nobody_ goes home," Naruto said firmly, quoting one of his favorite movies shown to him by his mother. Sgt. Slaughter was so awesome. Almost as cool as Optimus Prime. _Almost_.

Naruto brought his fists together and let the gauntlets appear, he turned to Misaki. "Get ready to leave once we come back."

Misaki nodded, muted by the determination that came off of Naruto in waves. Convinced that she would listen to his orders, Naruto turned and ran towards Zack. He wouldn't lose anyone on this quest. Not Misaki, not Zack, not Balius and not Xanthus! They had the dagger, they could go back to camp and reap the spoils.

Naruto pumped his arms and legs harder, trying to run faster as he watched Zack get cornered by the Cetus' hands. The sky started to darken overhead. Zack kept his crossbow aimed at the monster, bolts fired as fast as he could load them. The Cetus bellowed and brought its upper arms up, the hands clenched tightly into fists. They came down in almost slow motion, and Zack never let up on his defense.

Naruto felt and heard himself cry out Zack's name. It was weird, watching someone he could call his older brother die. Naruto didn't take in every detail of the scene, but at the same time it was like he saw every moment. Like it was a frame by frame showing of Zack's body being engulfed by the Cetus' fists. Naruto felt a burning anger – a fury – build up inside him as the Cetus' hands lifted and turned to him.

The Cetus roared at him.

Naruto roared back.

The sky responded with a loud boom as rain began to fall. The son of Neptune ran at the monster, rage and bloodlust in his eyes. He was going to make it suffer. Punish it. Make the Cetus wish it hadn't been born. These thoughts shot through his mind at a rapid speed, but overall each outcome of the plans that passed by were the same: Naruto was going to kill the Cetus.

Naruto was numb to his actions, and what happened next went by in a blur. He vaguely remembered suddenly being off the ground and rapidly approaching the Cetus with his fist brought back. Either he or the Cetus roared, or maybe both did, but Naruto remembered that his fist collided with a massive canine, easily twice his size. The Cetus' head reared back and the tooth fell to the ground, Naruto not far behind it.

He recalled a small jolt of pain that went through his legs, and the slight sting in his eyes from the cloud of sand his landing made. Naruto remembered being on the move. He avoided strikes and delivered his own to the Cetus' hands, breaking them when their fists collided. The Cetus healed remarkably fast, most likely due to the element they shared in common, and grew angrier with each miss. Naruto didn't really care how mad he made the monster. It wouldn't measure up to what Naruto felt.

It was beyond rage, an indescribable fury. Naruto remembered the burning of his blood, the intensity of the waves seemed to respond to it. He had tunnel vision and at the end of the tunnel were two things: The Cetus, dead on its back, and himself, standing tall and the cause of the former's position.

The only thing Naruto remembered clearly were the moments that lead up to the end of the fight. The Cetus had tried to corner him like it had Zack, but Naruto refused to let that happen. He forced the Cetus to back off, to the point it had to fall to its arms in an effort to support itself. The son of Neptune grabbed the fallen canine he had knocked out of the Cetus' mouth and picked it up over his head. The tooth was thrown and imbedded itself in the right eye.

While the Cetus tried to cover it and support itself off the beach, Naruto didn't relent. He pried a hand away and began to hammer away at the tooth with his fists, driving it further and further into the skull. By the time Naruto realized the Cetus had already disintegrated, he had pounded the canine tooth deep into the ground, to the point he couldn't pull it out if he tried. It was around this time that Naruto came out of his rage induced fight, and the rain began to stop. Droplets continued to fall even after the rainfall ended.

It was at that moment Naruto realized he was crying.

Naruto stayed on his knees, his fists pressed against the sand. He ducked his head down as he let it all sink in.

He found Scaevola's Dagger.

He just killed the Cetus.

He let Zack die.

Naruto took in a shuddering breath as he came to terms with all of it, well, mostly the last one. Zack was dead. The first of the Cohort to show unwavering support, the first friend he made outside of Jason...

Jason.

How would he react? Zack was as much Jason's brother as he was Naruto's. Jason would blame him for what happened. Naruto didn't doubt it for a second. After all, he was too slow to get Zack out. They had plenty of time and the Cetus moved slower on land than in the water.

"Naruto?" Naruto stiffened at Misaki's shaken voice. The gentle touch that landed on his shoulder made him flinch. Another hand made him turn to look at her. "Oh, Naruto..."

"...Z-Zack's d-dead." It was the only thing that Naruto could think of to say. The next thing he knew, Misaki's arms were around him and his were back around hers. "Zack's dead...and it's all my fault."

"No!" Misaki pushed him away, giving him a glare that was trying to be intimidating, but the effect was lost with the tears in her eyes. "No! Naruto, what that _thing_ did to Zack...it was _not_ your fault."

"But I-!"

"But nothing!" Misaki's hands cupped his face. "Zack died doing what we have been trained to do: Fight to protect our people. Romans and Mortals alike. He died _protecting_ us. He died like a true Roman."

"...Right..." Naruto swallowed and nodded. "Right. Right, he-he died like a true Roman."

Misaki nodded with him. "Zack was a hero of Camp Jupiter." Naruto continued to nod and Misaki stopped him, making him look at her. "Say it."

"Zack w-was a hero of Camp Jupiter."

Misaki gave him a stern look. "Zack's death was _not_ your fault."

"Zack's d-death was n-not my fault." Naruto repeated. As the words left his lips, he knew he didn't feel like they were honest.

"Naruto," Misaki said softly. "Naruto, this is going to be very hard, but we need to get Zack on the chariot."

"...Bury him at home..." Naruto nodded in agreement. He pulled away from Misaki and rubbed the back of his gauntlet over his eyes. He nodded and "We're going to take Zack home and give him a proper burial."

"Right, that's right." Misaki smiled softly. She sniffed and dabbed at her eyes. "Okay, let's...let's get Zack and we can go home."

Naruto looked over at the chariot, still attached to the two stallions. "He's not going to fit on that..."

The two had to turn at the sound of sand rapidly shifting and the feeling at a small tremor. Where the top of the Cetus' tooth once was, there was now a glimmering white pearl on the end of a sword hilt, with the blade impaled in the sand. At the base where the hilt met the blade was an engraved trident. The hilt was a bright gold, a dark leather wrapped around it for the grip.

"...Well, I guess that would be for me..." Naruto said, his voice tight. He got up off of his knees and went over to the sword. Naruto grabbed the hilt with both hands and pulled it slowly from the ground. The blade was nearly a foot longer than he was tall, and Naruto was grateful his gauntlets hadn't been willed away yet. The side of the golden blade was reflective and pristine, about a foot and a half wide.

"It's beautiful," Misaki said softly.

"...It's Zack's." Naruto stabbed the sword partially into the sand. He didn't look at it, couldn't. "I...don't know how well I would've done against the Cetus in a real fight. I...I don't remember it...But, I know that I couldn't have won today...without Zack."

Naruto rested his hand on the hilt. "This will be hung within the Fifth Cohort."

"That thing is massive. How are we going to get it _and_ Zack back to Camp Jupiter on that rickety old chariot?" Misaki asked. "I can't hold onto it and Zack."

 _M'lord?_ Naruto looked over at Balius as he and Xanthus approached. _I know it isn't my place, but...perhaps we could ask Lord Neptune for some assistance?_

Naruto frowned. Neptune wasn't exactly at the top of the list of his favorite people at the moment. Sure, he got a very beautiful – and massive – sword for killing the Cetus, a monster that Neptune had sent after a city. However, that monster just killed his older brother figure so, the reward was rather moot.

"What? What'd he say?" Misaki asked, getting to her feet and putting her hand on his arm.

"He wants me to ask Neptune for help."

"That's...actually a very good idea." Naruto turned to her and she gave him a small frown. "Neptune was one of the two creators of the chariot...and we shouldn't exactly try to ask the other for help."

Naruto agreed with that. The last thing Minerva would want would be to be asked for help by a Roman son of Neptune. He was certain that his request would not only be rebuffed, but most likely end with his own death.

"So...what do you think? The river is freshwater, Neptune's lord of the sea." Naruto pointed out.

"The Columbia River exits out into the Pacific," Misaki said. She shrugged. "Hierarchy goes a long way."

 _Bribe_. Naruto looked at Xanthus.

Balius nodded. _Yes! Er, well, I would call it more of an offering myself. But you could offer something up to one of the river gods, M'lord! That would help with getting the message to Lord Neptune! The sword-_

"Not the sword." Naruto flexed his jaw and nearly glanced over at where Zack was. They hadn't even checked his body yet. He could've been clinging to life, but they left him to die.

"Stop it." Misaki frowned at him. "Stop feeling guilty."

It was kind of hard to stop feeling guilty when you were the reason someone died. Naruto decided to humor Misaki and focused on the task at hand. He needed to give a sacrifice to the Columbia River god to get a message to Neptune, and he probably should give something to Neptune as well. Maybe even something more to butter him up...

"Three sacrifices." Naruto dug around in his pocket and pulled out the pendants he received from the Blemmyae. Misaki stared at them oddly.

"When did you get those?" Misaki asked. She pulled one from his hand and looked it over.

"When I was rescuing Xanthus." Naruto looked to the stallion, who had the decency to appear slightly bashful at being captured by the headless monsters. "They're just some pendants."

 _We can't give those to someone under Lord Neptune! Even if it came from his son, it would be a slap to the face of that god!_ Balius neighed, affronted. Naruto agreed with the horse, but this was all he had.

"No...Naruto, these are _cases_." Misaki reached into her purse and retrieved her dagger, a brilliant gold pugio that was shorter than Scaevola's by three inches and thinner by one. She turned the pendant upside down and slid the tip of her pugio across the seam, opening the pouch. Her thin fingers slipped into the small pendant and pulled out a small gem that reflected light perfectly, looking just like the sea. Misaki's eyes sparkled. "It's an aquamarine crystal...Naruto, do you know how rare this is in the United States? These are usually exported from Brazil!"

"...That makes a much better offering than I thought."

Misaki looked torn. "Do we have to offer it?"

Naruto gave her a look. "Misaki...We have to get Zack home..."

Misaki looked at the crystal in her hand with a whimper before she held it out and looked away. "If we must...For Zachary."

Naruto took the stone and cut the other two cases open. Two more equally beautiful crystals slipped into his hand and Misaki let out another whimper. Must be a Venus thing. To Naruto, these were just pretty stones. And if they helped him, all the better.

Naruto walked into the water and looked at the gems in his hand. He couldn't exactly just throw them and say "Hey Neptune! Give me a ride home!" Yeah, getting on the wrong side with his sire wasn't on his things-to-do list today. Instead, Naruto knelt down and let his hand disappear under the water.

"Um..." Naruto felt bad that he didn't know the name of the god in control of the Columbia River, so he faltered for a moment. "Hi, uh, mister god or goddess of the Columbia River...can you, uh, send a message to Neptune? One of these stones are for you and the others are for him."

A crystal shone brightly before it vanished, which made Naruto blink. "Oh...thanks. Tell Neptune that...Naruto Uzumaki, his son, needs a way to return his friend's b-body to Camp Jupiter." Naruto paused for a moment before he lowered his voice. "And tell him that I have a lot of other questions for him...that I'll ask at Camp."

The water passed calmly around him, crashing lightly on the beach. He waited for a moment before the aquamarine crystals vanished. Misaki let out a sharp gasp shortly afterward and Naruto turned to see the chariot glowing.

When the glow dissipated, a beautiful chariot that was gold and had aquamarine details had replaced it. The proud trident decorated the front, and images of running stallions and flying eagles were engraved on the side. Hooked at the back of the chariot by a sturdy chain was a low wagon with four wheels, a purple bed with a cloth that was large enough to be wrapped around a body.

Naruto looked back to the water just in time to see a small ripple appear in the distance. He could've sworn that he saw a head with green skin and black hair for a second...No matter. Grabbing the broadsword, Naruto went to the wagon, set the sword within, and grabbed the purple cloth. He and Misaki went to Zack's body, both of them paused at the sight.

Zack wasn't flattened, per say, but it was obvious that he did not survive the attack from the Cetus. If he had, it would've been a cruel death. The son of Fortuna had several bones jutted out of his skin, and a shallow crater surrounded his body. His one eye was open, blood trailed from the side down his cheek like a red tear.

It was heartbreaking.

With a determined swallow, Naruto knelt at Zack's side and prepared the cloth. Then, with the assistance of his control over the earth, Naruto moved Zack to rest atop the cloth. Misaki helped Naruto bind the body and the both of them carried him over to the wagon, resting him on the padded bed, concealing the sword from view.

The two stared at the wrapped body for another moment before they went to the chariot and climbed aboard. Naruto grabbed the reigns and took one last look at the water, his sea green eyes narrowed. He turned his back on the sea and cracked the reigns.

Balius and Xanthus neighed and they moved.

The Quest for Scaevola's Dagger was completed, it was time to go home.

* * *

 **AN: And so ends the Quest for Scaevola's Dagger. Zack is dead and Naruto killed the Cetus...which was based off of the Kraken from the 1981 classic: Clash of the Titans. I'm sorry, I just love that version more. It was so creative and scary for my nine-year-old self!**

 **REVIEW!**


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